Local coil apparatus for magnetic resonance imaging

ABSTRACT

A local coil apparatus for performing a magnetic resonance (MR) scanning on a local part of a subject is provided. The local coil apparatus may include at least one receiving system for receiving the local part. The at least one receiving system may each include an activation member, a receiving member assembly, and a driving mechanism. The receiving member assembly may include one or more receiving members. Each of the one or more receiving members may include a first coil assembly configured to receive MR signals during the MR scanning. The driving mechanism may be physically connected to the one or more receiving members. When the local part is placed on the activation member, the activation member may cause the driving mechanism to drive the receiving member assembly to change from a first configuration to a second configuration to reduce a distance between at least a portion of the first coil assembly and a portion of the local part so that the first coil assembly conforms to the local part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/033,928, filed on Sep. 28, 2020, which claims priority of ChineseApplication No. 201910918082.0, filed on Sep. 26, 2019, and is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/442,419 (issuedwith U.S. patent Ser. No. 10/830,847), filed on Jun. 14, 2019, whichclaims priority of Chinese Patent Application No. 201910194177.2 filedon Mar. 14, 2019, the entire contents of each of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This present disclosure relates to an imaging system, and moreparticularly, relates to a local coil apparatus for magnetic resonance(MR) imaging.

BACKGROUND

During a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging process, a subject to bescanned (e.g., a patient) is placed in a varying magnetic field, and aradiofrequency (RF) coil system can emit excitation RF signals to excitethe subject and receive response signals (or be referred to as MRsignals) emitted by the excited subject. The received response RFsignals are transformed to scan data, which is further processed togenerate an MR image of the subject. In many situations, to obtain an MRimage of a local part (e.g., the head, a knee) of the subject, a localcoil apparatus may be mounted in direct proximity on, below, next to, orin the corresponding part of the subject, so as to improve thesignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the MR image of the scanned part. Takingthe head coil apparatus as an example, the head coil apparatus may be inthe form of a hamlet and include a plurality of coils. The scanning ofthe subject's head can be achieved by the plurality of coils, therebyobtaining an MR image of the head for diagnosis or analysis. However,most of the existing head coil apparatus can't precisely accommodatedifferent sizes of heads. As a result, there are usually gaps betweenthe coils and the head, and the gaps are usually non-negligible. Thegaps may affect the MR imaging performance, causing a reduced SNR of theresulting MR image.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a local coil apparatus capable ofprecisely accommodate different sizes of heads (or other local parts) toreduce the gaps and improve the imaging performance.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a local coil apparatusfor performing a magnetic resonance (MR) scanning on a local part of asubject is provided. The local coil apparatus may include a housing andat least one receiving system for receiving the local part. The housingmay provide an inner space for receiving the local part of a subject.The at least one receiving system may each include an activation member,a receiving member assembly, and a driving mechanism. The activationmember may be disposed inside the inner space. The receiving memberassembly may include one or more receiving members inside the innerspace. Each of the one or more receiving members may include a firstcoil assembly configured to receive MR signals during the MR scanning.The driving mechanism may be physically connected to the one or morereceiving members. When the local part is placed on the activationmember, the activation member may cause the driving mechanism to drivethe receiving member assembly to change from a first configuration to asecond configuration to reduce a distance between at least a portion ofthe first coil assembly and a portion of the local part so that thefirst coil assembly conforms to the local part.

In some embodiments, the receiving member assembly in the secondconfiguration may be in closer conformity to the local part than in thefirst configuration.

In some embodiments, for at least one receiving member of the one ormore receiving members: the driving mechanism may include a first rodand a second rod; the first rod may be connected to the drivingmechanism; the first rod may be directly or indirectly connected to thesecond rod; the second rod may be connected to the at least onereceiving member; and when the local part is placed on the activationmember, the first rod may be driven, by the activation member, to movewith respect to the activation member, and the first rod may cause thesecond rod to push the at least one receiving member toward the localpart, causing a configuration change of the at least one receivingmember.

In some embodiments, the first rod and the second rod may be pivotallyconnected via a first connecting shaft, and the second rod may beconfigured to rotate with respect to the first rod via the firstconnecting shaft.

In some embodiments, an elastic component may be disposed at the firstconnecting shaft. The elastic component may cause the second rod torotate along with the first rod when the at least one receiving memberis not in contact with the local part, and the elastic component mayalso cause the second rod to rotate relative to the first rod when theconfiguration change of the at least one receiving member is obstructedby the local part while the activation member is still causing thedriving mechanism to drive the at least one receiving member.

In some embodiments, the elastic component may be a torsion springconnecting the first rod and the second rode.

In some embodiments, when the local part is placed on the activationmember, the activation member may be pressed down by the local part,causing the configuration change of the at least one receiving member.

In some embodiments, the first rod may be connected to the activationmember via a second connecting shaft. When the local part is pressingdown the activation member, the first rod may be pulled by theactivation member to move relative to the second connecting shaft,causing the second rod to move along with the first rod to push at leastone receiving member toward the local part.

In some embodiments, the at least one receiving system may include afirst receiving system and a second receiving system. The firstreceiving system may be configured to receive a first portion of thelocal part. The second receiving system may be configured to receive asecond portion of the local part.

In some embodiments, the first portion may include at least a portion ofthe head of a patient, and the second portion may include at least aportion of the neck of the patient.

In some embodiments, the activation member of the first receiving systemand the activation member of the second receiving system may be anintegral structure.

In some embodiments, at least one of the one or more receiving membersmay include a flexible component. When the receiving member assembly isin the second configuration, the flexible component of at least onereceiving member may undergo an elastic deformation and be caused topress against at least a portion of the local part.

In some embodiments, the first coil assembly of the receiving member maybe disposed inside the flexible component.

In some embodiments, the housing may includes a first component and asecond component. The first component may be configured to be positionedon a table of an MR imaging system. The first component and the secondcomponent may be detachably mounted together to form a chamber toprovide the inner space for receiving the local part. The at least onereceiving system may be mounted on the first component.

In some embodiments, the first component may include a movable scansection. The movable scanning section may include a third coil assemblyand is movable with respect to the first component to conform to aportion of the local part.

In some embodiments, the housing may include a second coil assembly. Thesecond coil assembly may be configured to receive MR signals during theMR scanning. The second coil assembly may have a fixed configurationwith respect to the housing.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a magneticresonance (MR) imaging system is provided. The MR imaging system mayinclude a medical device, a data processing device, and a local coilapparatus. The medical device may include a scanner and a table. Thescanner may be configured to perform an MR scanning in a scanning regionprovided by the scanner and obtain MR scan data resulting from the MRscanning. The table may be configured to support a subject and advancethe subject to the scanning region. The data processing device may be incommunication with the MR medical device, and be configured to generatean MR image based on the MR scan data. The local coil apparatus mayinclude a housing, at least one receiving system for receiving the localpart, and a communication module. The housing may include a firstcomponent and a second component. The first component may be configuredto be positioned on the table. The housing may provide an inner spacefor receiving a local part of a subject. The at least one receivingsystem may each include an activation member, a receiving memberassembly and a driving mechanism. The activation member may be disposedinside the inner space. The receiving member assembly may include one ormore receiving members inside the inner space. Each of the one or morereceiving members may include a first coil assembly. The first coilassembly may be configured to receive MR signals during the MR scanning.The driving mechanism may be physically connected to the one or morereceiving members. When the local part is placed on the activationmember, the activation member may cause the driving mechanism to drivethe receiving member assembly to change from a first configuration to asecond configuration to reduce a distance between at least a portion ofthe the first coil assembly and a portion of the local part so that thefirst coil assembly conforms to the local part. The communication modulemay be configured to transmit the MR signals or data generated based onthe MR signals to the medical device or the data processing device.

In some embodiments, when the local part is placed on the activationmember, the activation member may be pressed down by the local part. Forat least one receiving member of the one or more receiving members: thedriving mechanism may include a first rod and a second rod; the secondrod may be connected to the at least one receiving member; the first rodand the second rod may be pivotally connected via a first connectingshaft; the first rod may be connected to the activation member via asecond connecting shaft; an elastic component may be disposed at thefirst connecting shaft; when the local part is pressing down theactivation member, the first rod may be pulled by the activation memberto rotate about the second connecting shaft, causing the second rod tomove with the first rod to push the at least one receiving member towardthe local part, so as to cause a configuration change of the at leastone receiving member. The elastic component may cause the second rod tomove with the first rod when the receiving member is not in contact withthe local part. The elastic component may also cause the second rod torotate relative to the first rod when the configuration change of the atleast one receiving member is obstructed by the local part.

In some embodiments, the medical device may be a multi-modality scannerincluding an MR imaging modality and another imaging modality. The localcoil apparatus may include one or more materials that have have limitedinfluence on the another imaging modality.

In some embodiments, the housing may include a second coil assemblyconfigured to receive MR signals during the MR scanning. The second coilassembly may have a fixed configuration with respect to the housing.

Additional features will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or maybe learned by production or operation of the examples. The features ofthe present disclosure may be realized and attained by practice or useof various aspects of the methodologies, instrumentalities andcombinations set forth in the detailed examples discussed below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exampleembodiments. These example embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting examples,in which like reference numerals represent similar structures throughoutthe several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary imaging systemaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 2B and 2C are schematic diagrams illustrating a driving mechanismof the local coil apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2A according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary head coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top component of the headcoil apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic diagrams illustrating a bottom component ofthe head coil apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary receivingsystem of a local coil apparatus in its idle state according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the receiving systemillustrated in FIG. 11 in its operating state according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the receiving systemillustrated in FIG. 11 in the idle state according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating the receiving systemillustrated in FIG. 11 in the presence of a local part with a relativelysmall size according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating the receiving systemillustrated in FIG. 11 in the presence of a local part with a relativelybig size according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of coilsdisposed inside the top component of the head coil apparatus illustratedin FIG. 8 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of coilsdisposed inside the bottom component of the head coil apparatusillustrated in FIG. 9 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of coilsdisposed inside a first receiving member of the head coil apparatusillustrated in FIG. 10 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for performingan MR imaging on a local part of a subject with the imaging systemillustrated in FIG. 1 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary computing device for implementing oneor more components of the imaging device illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of illustrating an exemplary secondconfiguration of the local coil apparatus according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure

FIGS. 23 and 24 are schematic diagrams of an upper part of the localcoil apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary rotation jointaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a lower part of the local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 illustrates an exemplary torsional spring compressed baraccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary first posterior receiving memberaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplary second posterior receiving memberaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a local coil apparatus for performing anMR scanning on a local part of a subject, such as the head of a patient.The local coil apparatus includes a receiving system configured toreduce the distances between the coils of the local coil apparatus andthe local part received by the local coil apparatus to improve the MRimaging performance. The receiving system is also adaptive to localparts of different subjects with different shapes/sizes.

The following description is presented to enable any person skilled inthe art to make and use the present disclosure, and is provided in thecontext of a particular application and its requirements. Variousmodifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent tothose skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein maybe applied to other embodiments and applications without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown, but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the claims.

The flowcharts used in the present disclosure illustrate operations thatsystems implement according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. It is to be expressly understood, the operations of theflowcharts may be implemented not in order. Conversely, the operationsmay be implemented in inverted order, or simultaneously. Moreover, oneor more other operations may be added to the flowcharts. One or moreoperations may be removed from the flowcharts.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringaspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise”,“comprises”, and/or “comprising”, “include”, “includes”, and/or“including”, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,”“third,” etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, theseelements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one element from another. For example, a first elementcould be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element couldbe termed a first element, without departing from the scope of exemplaryembodiments of the present disclosure.

Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example,between layers) are described using various terms, including“connected,” “attached,” and “mounted.” Unless explicitly described asbeing “direct,” when a relationship between first and second elements isdescribed in the present disclosure, that relationship includes a directrelationship where no other intervening elements are present between thefirst and second elements, and also an indirect relationship where oneor more intervening elements are present (either spatially orfunctionally) between the first and second elements. In contrast, whenan element is referred to as being “directly” connected, attached, orpositioned to another element, there are no intervening elementspresent. Other words used to describe the relationship between elementsshould be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between,” versus“directly between,” “adjacent,” versus “directly adjacent”).

It should also be understood that terms such as “top,” “bottom,”“upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “lateral”, “longitudinal” “above,”“below,” “upward(s),” “downward(s),” “left,” “right,” and other suchspatial reference terms are used in a relative sense to describe thepositions or orientations of certain surfaces/parts/components of theapparatus in relation to other such features of the apparatus when theapparatus is in a normal operating position, and may change if theposition or orientation of the apparatus changes.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary imaging system100 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The imagingsystem 100 may include a medical device 110, a network 120, a dataprocessing device 130, one or more terminals 140, and a storage device150.

The medical device 110 may be an MR device for scanning a subject so asto generate an MR image of the patient. The medical device 110 may be asingle modality scanner or a multi-modality scanner (e.g., anMR-Positron emission tomography (PET) scanner). Correspondingly, the MRimage may be a normal MR image or a multi-modality image including an MRimage component. As used herein, the term “image” may generally refer toa normal image, a video, a video frame, a spectrum, or the like, or acombination thereof. The image may be a two-dimensional (2D) image, athree-dimensional (3D) image, or an image of a higher dimension. Thesubject may include a biological object and/or a non-biological object.For example, a biological object may be a human being, an animal, aplant, or the like, or a portion thereof (e.g., a cell, a tissue, anorgan). A non-biological object may be or may include a radioactive ore,an antique, luggage, etc. The medical device 110 may obtain scan data ofthe subject via the scanning. The data processing device 130 may obtainthe scan data from the medical device 110 and process the scan data toobtain the corresponding image.

The medical device 110 may include a scanner 111 and a table 112. Thescanner 111 may be in the form of a hollow cylinder, which may providean inner space as a scanning region 113. The scanner 111 may include amagnet assembly, a gradient coil assembly, and an RF coil assembly (notshown in FIG. 1). In some embodiments, the medical device 110 may be amulti-modality scanner including an MR imaging modality and anotherimaging modality (e.g., a PET imaging modality). In such embodiments,the scanner 111 may further include other imaging components (e.g., PETdetection rings). To perform an MR scanning on a subject 115 (e.g., apatient), the subject 115 may be placed on the table 112, and the table112 may be configured to support the subject and advance the subject tothe scanning region 113, so as to perform an MR scanning on the subject115.

Positions of the scanning region 113 may be represented by coordinateswith respect to a Cartesian coordinate system as shown in FIG. 1. TheCartesian coordinate system may include an X axis, a Y axis, and a Zaxis, directions of which may be referred to as an X direction, a Ydirection, and a Z direction. Coordinates of a point in the scanningregion 113 may be mapped to a voxel/pixel in the resulting MR image.

The magnet assembly may be configured to generate a static magneticfield (or be referred to as a main magnetic field) in the scanningregion 113. The static magnetic field may polarize the subject 115 forMR imaging. The static magnetic field may be in the Z direction. Themagnet assembly may be or may include a permanent magnet, asuperconducting electromagnet, a resistive electromagnet, etc. Themagnet assembly may have any magnetic field intensity, for example, 0.2Tesla, 0.5 Tesla, 1.0 Tesla, 1.5 Tesla, and 3.0 Tesla. In someembodiments, the magnet assembly may further include shim coils forenhancing the homogeneity of the magnetic field.

The gradient coil assembly may generate magnetic field gradient pulsesfor localizing MR signals (e.g., for phase encoding or frequencyencoding). The magnetic field gradient pulses may be in the X direction,the Y direction, and/or the Z direction. The magnetic field gradientpulses may form one or more gradient magnetic fields. The gradient coilassembly may form part of the magnet assembly or be independent of themagnet assembly.

The RF coil assembly may generate RF signals to excite the subject andreceive the MR signals responding to the RF signals. The MR signalsdetected by the RF coil assembly may be used to generate MR scan data,e.g., in the form of one or more K-space datasets. The MR scan data mayfurther be processed by the data processing device 130 to generate an MRimage.

In some embodiments, to scan a local part of the subject 115, such asthe head, the neck, a knee, the abdomen, a limb, an ankle, a hand, afoot, etc., of the subject 115, a local coil apparatus 160 may bemounted in direct proximity on, below, next to, or in the correspondingpart of the subject, so as to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ofthe MR image of the scanned part. The local coil apparatus 160 mayinclude a plurality of coils configured to specifically receive MRsignals of the corresponding local part of the subject 115. The localcoil apparatus 160 may be in any proper form. For example, the localpart of the subject 115 may be the head of the subject 115, then thelocal coil apparatus 160 may be in the form of a headgear for receivingthe head of the subject 115, and may include a plurality of coilsspecifically configured to scan the head of a patient. Detaileddescriptions of the local coil apparatus 160 may be found elsewhere inthe present disclosure (e.g., in connection with FIG. 2A)

During the scanning of the local part (e.g., a head), coils of the localcoil apparatus 160 may receive MR signals emitted by the local part. TheMR signals may be transformed (e.g., by the local coil apparatus 160,the medical device 110, or the data processing device 130) intocorresponding MR scan data. The scan data may be transmitted to the dataprocessing device 130 for generating an MR image of the local part.Compared to the RF coil assembly inside the scanner 111 of the medicaldevice 110, the local coil apparatus 160 may provide better imagingperformance toward the local part.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 160 may include acommunication module (now shown) configured to transmit the received MRsignals or data generated based on the MR signals to the medical device110 or the data processing device 130. For example, the communicationmodule may directly transmit the received MR signals to the medicaldevice 110 or the data processing device 130. As another example, thelocal coil apparatus 160 may include a component (e.g., ananalog-to-digital converter) to obtain digital data based on thereceived MR signals, and the communication module may transmit thedigital data to the medical device 110 or the data processing device130.

It is noted that when the medical device 110 is a multi-modality scannerincluding an MR imaging modality and another imaging modality, thematerials of the local coil apparatus may have limited influence on theother imaging modality so that the quality of the image obtained basedon scan data of the other imaging modality is acceptable. For example,when the medical device 110 is an MR-PET medical device, at least thescanner of the local coil apparatus 160 (and also coils thereof in someembodiments) is made of gamma-photon-permeable materials.

In some embodiments, the medical device 110 may also include anotherfunctioning component, such as a radiation emitter. For example, themedical device 110 may be an MR-radiation therapy (RT) device.Correspondingly, at least the body of the local coil apparatus 160 (andalso coils thereof in some embodiments) is made of X-ray-permeablematerials.

The network 120 may include any suitable network that can facilitate theexchange of information and/or data for the imaging system 100.Components of the imaging system 100 (e.g., the medical device 110, theterminal 140, the data processing device 130, the storage device 150)may communicate information and/or data with each other via the network120. The network 120 may be a wired network (e.g., an Ethernet network),a wireless network (e.g., a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network), or thelike or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network 120 mayfurther include one or more network access points such as base stationsand/or internet exchange points.

The data processing device 130 may process data and/or informationobtained from the medical device 110, the terminal 140, and/or thestorage device 150. For example, the data processing device 130 may bein communication with the medical device 110 and configured to generatean MR image based on the MR scan data obtained from the medical device110. For example, the MR scan data may be normal MR scan data, and theMR image may be a normal MR image. As another example, the MR scan datamay include normal MR scan data and scan data obtained via anotherimaging modality, such as PET scan data. Then the generated MR image maybe a multi-modality image, such as an MR-PET image obtained by fusingthe corresponding MR image and PET image. The data processing device 130may also be configured to control one or more components of the imagingsystem 100. For example, the data processing device 130 may beconfigured to control the medical device 110 to scan the subject 115 forMR imaging.

The terminal 140 may be configured to display information to a userand/or receive instructions of the user. For example, the terminal 140may receive instructions for MR imaging from a user, transmit theinstructions to the data processing device 130 to initiate a scanning bythe medical device 110, and display the obtained MR image to the user.The terminal 140 may include a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptopcomputer, a wearable device, a virtual reality device, an augmentedreality device or the like, or any combination thereof. In someembodiments, the terminal 140 may be a part of the data processingdevice 130, such as a remote controller of the data processing device130, a display screen, a mouse, a keyboard, a microphone, a loudspeaker,or the like, or a combination thereof.

The storage device 150 may store any data and/or instructions associatedwith the imaging system 100. For example, the storage device 150 maystore scan data or MR images obtained by the imaging system 100. Asanother example, the storage device 150 may store instructions to beexecuted by the data processing device 130 for processing scan dataobtained by the medical device 110.

It is noted that the above descriptions about the imaging system 100 areonly for illustration purposes, and not intended to limit the presentdisclosure. After learning the major concept and the mechanism of thepresent disclosure, a person of ordinary skill in the art may alter theimaging system 100 in an uncreative manner. The alteration may includecombining and/or splitting modules or sub-modules, adding or removingoptional modules or sub-modules, etc. All such modifications are withinthe protection scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus 200 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.The local coil apparatus 200 is an example of the local coil apparatus160. The local coil apparatus 200 may be used to perform a local MRimaging on a local part 290 of a subject. In some embodiments, when thesubject 115 is a human, the local part 290 may be the head, a knee, anankle, the abdomen, a hand, a foot, etc., of the subject 115. Comparedto other existing local coil apparatuses, the local coil apparatus 200may accommodate to the corresponding local part 290 of any reasonablesize/shape. The local coil apparatus 200 may include mechanismsconfigured to reduce the gaps (or distances) between the coils and thelocal part 290 of any size/shape, so as to further improve the imagingperformance.

For demonstration purpose, the Cartesian coordinate system shown in FIG.1 may be used for demonstrating the relative positions of the componentsof the local coil apparatus 200 or an embodiment thereof.

The local coil apparatus 200 may include a housing 210. The housing 210may include at least one material which may provide sufficientmechanical strength, so that the housing 210 may provide mechanicalsupport to other components of the local coil apparatus 200. The housing210 may also allow penetration of RF signals and magnetic fieldsgenerated by the medical device 110 so that the MR imaging is enabled.In some embodiments, the housing 210 may include a substantially flatsurface (e.g., the surface 211) so that the local coil apparatus 200 maybe steadily placed on the table 112. Alternatively or additionally, thehousing 210 may include a mounting structure to mount the local coilapparatus 200 on the table 112, so that the local part 290 may not moveduring the MR scanning.

The housing 210 may be in the form of a receiving chamber providing aninner space for receiving the local part 290. The housing 210 may alsoprovide mechanical support to other components of the local coilapparatus 200.

The local coil apparatus 200 may also include at least one receivingsystem for receiving the local part. Each of the at least one receivingsystem is configured to receive a corresponding portion of the localpart 290. For example, the local coil apparatus 200 may include a firstreceiving system for receiving a first portion of the local part 290 anda second receiving system of receiving a second portion of the localpart 290. In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may be ahead coil apparatus, and the local part 290 may include the head and theneck of a patient (e.g., the body above shoulders). Then the above firstportion may include at least a portion of the head of a patient, and thesecond portion may include at least a portion of the neck of a patient.

Each of the at least one receiving system may include a receiving memberassembly, an activation member 240, and a driving mechanism 250. Fordemonstration purposes, only one receiving system is illustrated in FIG.2A and is to be described in detail as following.

The receiving member assembly may include one or moremovable/rotatable/bendable receiving members 230 arranged inside theinner space provided by the housing 210. The configuration of each ofthe one or more receiving members 230 may be changeable to comfort to acorresponding portion of the local part 290. For example, the one ormore receiving members 230 may be movable, rotatable, and/or bendabletoward the local part 290 to receive the local part 290. Fordemonstration purposes and not intended to be limiting, only onereceiving member 230 is illustrated in FIG. 2A.

The one or more receiving members 230 may be physically supported by thehousing 210. In some embodiments, the one or more receiving member 230may be connected to the inner surface of the housing 210. Each of theone or more receiving members 230 may include a first coil assembly 231formed by one or more coils. The first coil assembly 231 may be disposedon the surface of or be embedded in the corresponding receiving member230, and may be moved along with the receiving member 230.

When the local coil apparatus 200 is in a state (or be referred to as ascanning state) for performing an MR scanning (e.g., when theinstallation of the local coil apparatus 200 on the subject 115 iscompleted), the receiving member assembly may change from a firstconfiguration to a second configuration. In the second configuration, atleast a portion of the receiving member assembly may be in closerconformity to the local part than in the first configuration. After theconfiguration change, the distance between at least a portion of thefirst coil assembly 231 thereof and a corresponding portion of the localpart 290 may be reduced. When the receiving member assembly is in thesecond configuration, the first coil assemblies 231 thereof may togetherform at least a part of a combined coil assembly for performing the MRscanning on the local part 290.

As used herein, the inner surface of the housing 210 may be the surfacefacing the local part 290, and the outer surface of the shell may be thesurface away from the local part 290.

During the configuration change of the receiving member assembly, theone or more receiving members 230 may also have their respectiveconfiguration changes. After the configuration change, each of the oneor more receiving members 230 may be in closer conformity to the localpart 290, so that the distance between the first coil assembly 231thereof and a corresponding portion of the local part 290 may beminimized. It is noted that when the local coil apparatus 200 includesmultiple receiving members 230, the extents of the configuration changesof the multiple receiving members 230 may be the same or different,depending on the size/shape of the local part 290. It is also noted thatthe one or more receiving members 230 may have substantially the samestructure/shape/size or different structures/shapes/sizes.

In some embodiments, the receiving member assembly may further includeone or more other members for receiving the local part 290 and/orperforming the MR imaging on the local part 290. For example, thereceiving member assembly my include one or moremovable/rotatable/bendable receiving members (or be referred to aslimiting members, not shown) including no coils. The one or morelimiting members may be configured to further limit the movement of thelocal part 290 and/or another local part (e.g., a local part doesn'tneed an MR scanning) of the subject 115, so that the local part 290 maybe kept in still during the MR imaging to reduce artifacts. The one ormore limiting members may be drying by the driving mechanism 250, byanother independent driving mechanism, or be operated manually by anoperator of the imaging system 100. As another example, the receivingmember assembly may include one or more coil-including members (notshown), each of which may have a fixed configuration (i.e., have noconfiguration change) with respect to the housing 210. The one or morecoil-including members may support the one or more receiving members 230and/or guide the local part 290 to be placed on the activation member240. As a further example, the receiving member assembly may include oneor more movable/rotatable/bendable coil-including receiving members (notshown), which may be drying by another driving mechanism, or be operatedmanually by an operator of the imaging system 100.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may further include asecond coil assembly 225 formed by one or more coils. The second coilassembly 225 may be disposed on the inner surface or the outer surfaceof the housing 210, or be embedded in the housing 210. Compared to thefirst coil assembly 231, the second coil assembly 225 may have a fixedconfiguration (e.g., shape, structure, position) with respect to thehousing 210. After the configuration change of the one or more receivingmembers 230, the first coil assemblies 231 and the at least one secondcoil assembly 225 may together form a combined coil assembly (or atleast a part thereof) for performing the MR scanning on the local part290. In some embodiments, the at least one second coil assembly 225 maybe optional and be removed from the local coil apparatus 200.

The activation member 240 may be disposed inside the inner spaceprovided by the housing 210. When the local part 290 is received by thehousing 210, a portion of the local part 290 may be placed on theactivation member 240, and the activation member 240 may be triggered bythe local part 290. The driving mechanism 250 may be physicallyconnected to the one or more receiving members 230. When the local partis placed on the activation member 240, the activation member 240 maycause the driving mechanism 250 to drive the receiving member assemblyto change from the first configuration to the second configuration. Forexample, the activation member 240 may activate the driving mechanism250. The activated driving mechanism 250 may exert a driving force oneach of the one or more receiving member 230 to cause the configurationchange.

In some embodiments, the activation member 240 may exert an activationforce to the driving mechanism 250 when the local part 290 is placedthereon. The driving mechanism 250 may include a plurality of drivingelements, such as one or more rods, belts, gears (e.g., mechanical gearsand/or magnetic gears), springs (e.g., torsion spring), bears, or thelike, or a combination thereof. The driving elements of the drivingmechanism 250 may operate together to transmit the activation force fromthe activation member 240 to one or more receiving members 230. Thetransmitted activation force may be the aforementioned driving force. Indifferent embodiments, to transmit the force, the driving mechanism 250may include at least one of a magnetic coupled driving mechanism, ahydraulic driving mechanism, a pneumatic driving mechanism, anelectro-mechanical driving mechanism, or a mechanical driving mechanism.

The activation member 240 may have various forms and activationmechanisms. In some embodiments, when the local part 290 is placed onthe activation member 240, the local part 290 may exert a force (e.g.,the gravity force) to the activation member 240, and the activationmember 240 may transmit the force exerted by the local part 290 to thedriving mechanism 250 as the activation force (with or without areduction of the force), and the configuration changes of the one ormore receiving members may be resulting from the force exerted by thelocal part 290. In some embodiments, the activation member 240 mayinclude an electric motor and a triggering mechanism to turn on (or turnoff) the electric motor. For example, the triggering mechanism may be ormay include a pressing button/plate serving as a switch of the electricmotor. When the local part 290 is placed on the activation member 240,the pressing button/plate may be pressed down, and the electric motormay be switched on. As another example, the activation member 240 mayinclude a first sensor for sensing the distance between the local part290 and the first sensor. When the distance is below a predeterminedthreshold, the first sensor or a processor in communication with thefirst sensor may transmit a control signal to the electric motor,causing the electric motor to be turned on. The activation member 240(or the driving mechanism 250) may further include a properly designedtransformation mechanism to transform the mechanic energy generated bythe electric motor to the activation force to activate the drivingmechanism 250.

In the above embodiments, optionally, when the local part 290 is placedon the activation member 240, the activation member 240 may be presseddown by the local part 290, causing the configuration change of thereceiving member assembly. For example, due to the gravity force of thelocal part 290, the pressed activation member 240 may pull a componentof the driving mechanism 250 to activate the driving mechanism 250. Asanother example, the whole body of the activation member 240 may be madeas a pressing button to switch on an electric motor to activate thedriving mechanism 250.

In some embodiments, the activation member 240 may include one or morecoils (optionally) for performing the MR scanning.

FIGS. 2B and 2C are schematic diagrams illustrating the drivingmechanism 250 of the local coil apparatus 200 illustrated in FIG. 2Aaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For at leastone of the one or more receiving members 230 in a receiving system, thedriving mechanism 250 may include at least a first rod 251 and a secondrod 252. For demonstration purposes, only one receiving member 230 andthe corresponding first/second rod 251/252 is illustrated in FIGS. 2Band 2C, and is to be further described as following. The first rod 251may be connected to the activation mechanism 240, and may be directly orindirectly connected to the second rod 252. The second rod 252 may beconnected to at least one receiving member 230 of the receiving memberassembly. When the local part 290 is placed on the activation member240, the first rod 251 may be driven, by the activation member 240, tomove (e.g., rotate) relative to the activation member 240. The first rod251 may cause, via the direct or indirect connection, the second rod 252to push the at least one receiving member 230 toward the local part 290,causing the configuration change of the at least one receiving member230.

In some specific embodiments, for each of the one or more receivingmembers 230, the driving mechanism 250 may include at least a first rod251 and a second rod 252 for driving the configuration changes of theone or more receiving members 230.

In some embodiments, the second rod 252 may be connected to a singlereceiving member 230.

In some embodiments, the second rod 252 may be connected to multiplereceiving members 230, and may drive the configuration changes of themultiple receiving members 230 concurrently.

In some embodiments, the first rod 251 and the second rod 252 may bedirectly connected. For example, the first rod 251 may be pivotallyconnected to the second rod 252 via, e.g., a connecting shaft (firstconnecting shaft, not shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C), and the second rod 252may be configured to rotate with respect to the first rod 251 via theconnecting shaft, so that the configuration change of the receivingmember 230 may be performed smoothly.

In some embodiments, an elastic component (not shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C)may be disposed at the connecting shaft. The elastic component may causethe second rod 252 to move (e.g., rotate) along with the first rod 251when the receiving member is not in contact with the local part 290.Under such a situation, the elastic component may provide astrengthening force to strengthen the connection between the first rod251 and the second rod 252, and the second rod 252 and the first rod 251may be viewed as an integrated structure. The elastic component may alsocause the second rod 252 to move (e.g., rotate) relative to the firstrod 251 when the configuration change of the receiving member 230 hasobstructed by the local part 290 and the activation member 240 furthercauses the driving mechanism 250 to drive the receiving member 230. Forexample, under such a situation, the activation member 240 may continueto provide an activation force (e.g., resulted from the gravity forceexerted by the local part 290, generated by an electric motor) to thedriving mechanism 250. Consequently, the receiving member 230 may bepressed tighter against the local part 290 by the driving mechanism (orthe second rod 252), and the local part 290 may exert a strongerfeedback force back to the receiving member 230, which may betransmitted to the elastic component and overwhelm the strengtheningforce provided by the elastic component, causing the second rod 252 tomove (e.g., rotate) relative to the first rod 251. The elastic componentmay enable the driving mechanism 250 to adapt to local part 290 ofdifferent sizes and/or shapes, and avoid a possible accident caused byan over-sized local part 290 or a malfunction of the activation member240.

In some embodiments, the elastic component may include at least one of anormal spring, a torsion spring, a rubber band, an elastic belt, or thelike, or a combination thereof. An example of the elastic component, thefirst rod, and the second rod are provided in connection with FIGS. 11to 15.

In some embodiments, the first rod 251 and the second rod 252 may beindirectly connected via one or more other driving components, such as arod, a gear, a belt, magnetic coupling components, or the like, or acombination thereof. The driving mechanism 250 may have any properconfiguration to allow the rotated first rod 251 to drive the second rod252 to change the configuration of the receiving member 230. In somespecific embodiments, at least two of the components of the drivingmechanism 250 may be connected via an aforementioned elastic component.

In some embodiments, a guiding system (now shown) may be introduced intothe driving mechanism 250 to guide the rotation/move of the first/secondrod 251/252, so that the first/second rod 251/252 may move (e.g.,rotate) along a fixed trajectory, and the steady of the drivingmechanism 250 may be improved. For example, the guiding system mayinclude one or more of a guiding slot, a guiding rod, a stop block (forlimiting the rotation/moving range), a magnet, or the like, or acombination thereof. The guiding system may also provide mechanicsupport to the first/second rod 251/252.

Referring back to FIG. 2A, during the configuration change the receivingmember assembly from the first configuration to the secondconfiguration, at least one of the shape, the position, or the structureof each of the one or more receiving members 230 thereof may be adjustedautomatically, so that the receiving member may have closer conformitytoward the local part 290. For each of the one or more receiving members230, when the receiving member assembly is in the first configuration,the receiving member 230 may be in a position/shape/structure thatfacilitate the local part 290 (even in a biggest reasonable size) to bereceived by the housing 210 and be placed on the at least one activationmember 240 (e.g., the broken lines in FIG. 2A); when the receivingmember assembly is in the second configuration, the receiving member 230may be automatically adjusted toward the local part 290 to reduce thedistance between the corresponding first coil assembly 231 and the localpart 290 (e.g., the receiving member 230 as shown in FIG. 2A). Forexample, the receiving member 230 may be moved/bent/rotated away fromthe inner surface of the housing 210, so as to reduce the distancebetween the first coil assembly 231 thereof and the local part 290. Insome embodiments, when the receiving member assembly in the secondconfiguration, each receiving member 230 thereof may be in contact withthe local part 290. Under such a situation, the distance between thefirst coil assembly 231 of each receiving member 230 and a correspondingportion of the local part 290 may be minimized, and the movement of thelocal part 290 may also be limited. The minimized distance and thelimited movement of the local part 290 may further improve the MRimaging performance of the local coil apparatus 200 and/or the medicaldevice 110. For example, the SNR of the MR image of the local part 290may be improved.

In some embodiments, the second configuration of the receiving memberassembly may be a fixed configuration that cannot be self-adaptivelyadjusted. When the receiving member assembly is in the secondconfiguration, the configurations of the one or more receiving member230 thereof may be predetermined.

In some embodiments, the second configuration of the receiving memberassembly may be self-adaptively adjustable according to the size and/orshape of the local part 290. For example, each receiving member 230 ofthe receiving member assembly may have an initial configurationcorrespond to the first configuration of the receiving member assembly,and a final configuration corresponding to the maximum allowableconfiguration change of the receiving member 230. For example, in theinitial configuration, the receiving member 230 may be closer to thehousing 210, and in the final configuration, the receiving member 230may be closer to the local part 290 or the central part of the receivingchamber formed by the housing 210. When the receiving member assemblyreaches the second configuration, each receiving member 230 thereof maybe in an intermediate configuration between the initial configurationand the final configuration. Such an intermediate configuration may bereferred to as a stop configuration. The stop configuration may dependon various factors, such as the strength of the driving force, thedistance between a corresponding portion of the local part 290 and thereceiving member 230, the size and/or shape of the local part 290, orthe like, or a combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the stop configuration may depend on the drivingforce from the driving mechanism 250. For example, a larger drivingforce may cause a higher degree of configuration change, and the stopconfiguration may be more toward the final configuration change. In somespecific embodiments, the receiving member 230 may include an elasticcomponent, which may exert a feedback force to the driving mechanism 250due to the configuration change of the receiving member 230. Thefeedback force may be increased with the extent of the configurationchange. When the feedback force reaches an equilibrium with the drivingforce, the configuration change of the receiving member 230 may bestopped, and the current configuration may be the stop configuration.For example, a smaller size of the local part 290 may generally have asmaller weight. For a local part 290 having a smaller weight, theactivation member 240 may cause the driving mechanism 250 to generate alarger driving force, and the stop configuration may be more toward thefinal configuration.

In some embodiments, the second configuration may depend on the distancebetween the local part 290 and the receiving member 230. For example,the receiving member 230 may include a second sensor for sensing thedistance between the local part 290 and the second sensor. When thedistance is below a predetermined threshold, the second sensor or aprocessor in communication with the second sensor may transmit a controlsignal to the driving mechanism 250 to deactivate the driving mechanism250. For example, the driving mechanism 250 may include an electricmotor for generating the driving force, and the control signal may turnoff the electric motor. When the driving mechanism 250 is deactivated,the configuration change of the receiving member 230 may be stopped, andthe current configuration may be the stop configuration of the receivingmember 230.

In some embodiments, the stop configuration of the receiving member 230may depend on the size and/or shape of the local part 290. For example,during the configuration change, if the elastic deformation of the localpart 290 is neglected, when the receiving member 230 pressses the localpart 290 and the local part 290 stopes the configuration of thereceiving member 230 from changing further, the current configurationmay be the stop configuration. As another example, during theconfiguration change, when the receiving member 230 is pressed againstthe local part 290 by the driving mechanism 250, the local part 290 mayexert a feedback force to the receiving member 230. When the feedbackforce reaches an equilibrium with the driving force, the configurationchange of the receiving member 230 may be stopped, and the currentconfiguration may be the stop configuration of the receiving member 230.

In some embodiments, during the configuration change of the receivingmember 230, the receiving member 230 may be moved/rotated toward thelocal part 290. During the moving/rotating of the receiving member 230,or when the receiving member 230 reaches the local part 290, thereceiving member 230 may further be bent toward the local part 290 tocover a larger portion of the local part 290, so that the conformitytoward the local part 290 may be improved.

The one or more receiving members 230 of the receiving system may be setaccording to the actual needs. In some embodiments, a receiving systemmay include a single receiving member 230. During the configurationchange of the receiving member 230, the receiving member 230 may be bentto wrap the local part 290. In some specific embodiments, the receivingmember 230 may further include a mechanical structure to guide itsbending. Alternatively, the receiving system may include multiplereceiving members 230, which may correspond to different portions of thelocal part 290. When the receiving member assembly is in the secondconfiguration, each receiving member 230 thereof may be caused toconform to the corresponding portion of the local part 290. The multiplereceiving members 230 may have the same or different shapes, sizes,and/or structures. In some embodiments, the multiple receiving members230 may be symmetrically arranged.

In some embodiments, at least one receiving member 230 of the receivingsystem may include a flexible component which may be in contact with thelocal part 290 when the at least one receiving member 230 is in thesecond configuration. For example, the flexible component may bedisposed on the surface of the receiving member 230 to be in contactwith the local part 290. As another example, the flexible component maycover the whole surface of the receiving member 230. As a furtherexample, the whole receiving member 230 may be the flexible component.

The flexible component may include at least one soft/elastic/flexiblematerial, such as cotton, wool, cloth, leather, artificial fiber,sponge, rubber, silica gel, polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)copolymer, latex, or the like, or a combination thereof. When thereceiving member 230 is in the second configuration, the flexiblecomponent may undergo an elastic deformation and be caused to pressagainst at least a portion of the local part 290, thereby reducing thepressure of the receiving member 230. When the subject 115 is a patient,the flexible component may make the patient feel more comfortable, andmay avoid possible damage to the patient. In some specific embodiments,the first coil assembly 231 of the receiving member 230 may be insidethe flexible component. Due to the elastic deformation of the flexiblecomponent, the first coil assembly 231 may be closer to the local part290, and the imaging performance of the local coil apparatus 200 may befurther improved.

In some embodiments, the housing 210 may include a bottom component 216(first component) and a top component 215 (second component). The“bottom” and the “top” are with respect to the Y direction. During theMR scanning, the bottom component 216 may be configured to be positionedon the table 112, and the top component 215 may installed on the bottomcomponent 216. The top component 215 and the bottom component 216 can bedetachably mounted together to form the whole housing 210 when thehousing 210 is in a closed state, or be separated apart when the housing210 is in an open state. In some embodiments, the at least one receivingsystem of the local coil apparatus 200 may be mounted on the bottomcomponent 216. However, it is also possible that one or more of theabove components may be mounted on the top component 215. When thehousing 210 is in the open state, the local part 290 can be received bythe bottom component 216. During the receiving, for each of the at leastone receiving system, a corresponding portion of the local part 290 maybe placed over the activation member 240 of the receiving system. Beforethe receiving, each of the one or more receiving member 230 of thereceiving system may be in the first configuration to enable the localpart 290 to be placed on the activation member 240. After the local part290 is placed on the activation member 240, each of the one or morereceiving member 230 may be changed into the second configuration, sothat the first coil assembly (or assemblies) 231 of the local coilapparatus 200 may approach the local part 290. Then the top component215 may be mounted on the bottom component 216 so that the housing 210is in the closed state and be ready for MR imaging.

It is noted that besides the top-bottom form illustrated in FIG. 2A, thehousing 210 may have any proper form for receiving the local part 290,which is not limited in the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the top component 215 and the bottom component 216may each include a part of the second coil assembly 225. Alternatively,either the top component 215 or the bottom component 216 may include thewhole second coil assembly 225 (if any).

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may further include athird coil assembly (not shown). The shape/position/structure of thethird coil assembly may be changeable with respect to the housing 210,and the third coil assembly may be disposed on a component of the localcoil apparatus 200 other than the one or more receiving members 230. Forexample, the top component 215 may include a movable section, which ismovable/bendable/rotatable with respect to the top component 215. Themovable section may include the above third coil assembly, and may bemoved/bent/rotated to conform to a portion of the local part 290. Forexample, when the local part 290 includes the head of a patient, themovable section may be moved/bent/rotated to conform to the upfront face(or a part thereof) of the patient. The movable section is independentof the receiving system described above, and may be manually operated.

In some embodiments, in response to an activation of a correspondingactivation member similar to the activation member 240, the topcomponent 215 may be driven by a driving system similar to the drivingmechanism 250, so as to be mounted on the bottom component 216. Forexample, when the local part 290 is properly placed on the activationmember(s) 240 of the receiving member(s) 230 to trigger the activationmember(s) 240, the local part 290 may trigger the activation member ofthe top component 215 as well. As a result, each of the receivingmember(s) 230 may change the configuration to conform to the local part290. In the meantime or with a short delay, the top component 215 mayalso be driven to cover the bottom component 216. During such a process,the top component 215 may also have a configuration change (e.g., bemoved, rotated, and/or bent). In such embodiments, the top component 215may also be viewed as a specifically configured receiving member 230. Insome specific embodiments, the top component 215 may be formed bymultiple parts, each of which may be viewed as a specifically configuredreceiving member 230. The configuration changes of the multiple partsmay be performed simultaneously or sequentially. After the configurationchanges, the multiple parts may together form the top component 215.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may further includeother functioning members. For example, the local coil apparatus 200 mayinclude a built-in power unit or a power input port to receive externalpower supply from, e.g., the medical device 110 or the data processingdevice 130. As another example, the local coil apparatus 200 may includean analog-to-digital converter to convert the received MR signals intodigital data. As a further example, the local coil apparatus 200 mayinclude an output port to output the received MR signals or digital dataconverted from the received MR signals to, e.g., the medical device 110or the data processing device 130.

In some specific embodiments, the subject 115 may be a patient, and thelocal part 290 may include the head and the neck (or a portion thereof)of the patient. The local coil apparatus 200 may include a firstreceiving system and a second receiving system for receiving the headand the neck of the patient respectively according to the differencebetween the sizes/shapes of the head and the neck of the patient. Eachof the first receiving system and the second receiving system mayinclude an activation member 240, a driving mechanism 250, and a pair ofreceiving members 230 symmetrically arranged at both lateral sides ofthe local coil apparatus. Such embodiments are illustrated in FIGS. 5 to10 and the descriptions thereof. It is noted that the local coilapparatus 200 may also include only one receiving system, or includemore than two receiving systems.

In some embodiments, the activation members 240 of the first receivingsystem and the second receiving system may be integrated into anintegral structure. For example, the local coil apparatus 200 mayinclude a single activation member 240 for both the first receivingsystem and the second receiving system. When the local part 290 isplaced on such an activation member 240, the driving mechanisms 250 ofboth the first receiving system and the second receiving system may beactivated to cause the receiving members 230 of both the first receivingsystem and the second receiving system to conform to the local part 290.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may have the form asshown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplarylocal coil apparatus 300 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The local coil apparatus 300 may be an example of the localcoil apparatus 200. The local coil apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 3is in the closed state.

The local coil apparatus 300 may include a housing 310 for receiving alocal part 390 of a subject 115, and may include a coil assembly 320 forperforming the MR imaging on the local part 390. The local coilapparatus 300 may also include an aforementioned receiving memberassembly. The receiving member assembly may include one or morereceiving members corresponding to the receiving member 230, which arenot illustrated in FIG. 3. When the receiving member assembly of thelocal coil apparatus 300 is in the second configuration, the first coilassemblies of the one or more receiving members may together form atleast a portion of the coil assembly 320. The housing 310 may be anexample of the housing 210. The housing 310 may include a substantiallyflat surface 311 corresponding to the surface 211. The housing 310 mayinclude at least two openings. The subject 115 may penetrate the housing310 through the at least two openings, leaving the local part 390 (e.g.,a knee) inside the housing 310. In some embodiments, the local coilapparatus 300 may include fixed coils that are embodiments of the secondcoil assembly 225. The fixed coils may be a part of the coil assembly320. In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 300 may not includecoils that are embodiments of the second coil assembly 225. Then thecoil assembly 320 may be formed only by the first coil assembly (orassemblies) of the one or more receiving members.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 200 may have the form asshown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplarylocal coil apparatus 400 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The local coil apparatus 400 may be an example of the localcoil apparatus 200. The local coil apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 4is in the closed state.

The local coil apparatus 400 may include a housing 410 for receiving alocal part 490 of a subject 115, and may include a coil assembly 420 forperforming the MR imaging on the local part 490. The coil assembly 420may include an upper coil sub-assembly 421 and a lower coil sub-assembly422 for performing the MR imaging on different portions of the localpart 490 (with respect to the Z direction). The local coil apparatus 400may also include a receiving member assembly. The receiving memberassembly may include one or more receiving members corresponding to thereceiving member 230, which are not illustrated in FIG. 4. When thereceiving member assembly is in the second configuration, the first coilassembly (or assemblies) thereof may together form at least a part ofthe lower coil sub-assembly 422. The local coil apparatus 400 mayinclude fixed coils that are embodiments of the second coil assembly225. The upper coil sub-assembly 421 may be formed solely by the fixedcoils. In some embodiments, the lower coil sub-assembly 422 may alsoinclude a part formed by the fixed coils.

The housing 410 may be an example of the housing 210. The housing 410may include a substantially flat surface 411 corresponding to thesurface 211. The housing 410 may include a single opening for receivingthe local part 390, but may include openings for other use in someembodiments. The local part 390 may be an end (e.g., the head) of thesubject 115, which may not penetrate through the housing 410. The localpart 490 may include a first portion 491 and a second portion 492. Theupper coil sub-assembly 421 may be for scanning the first portion 491,and the lower coil sub-assembly 422 may be for scanning the secondportion 492. In some embodiments, the housing 410 may include a topcomponent 415 and a bottom component 416, which may correspond to thetop component 215 and the bottom component 216 respectively.

In some embodiments, the local part 490 may be the head of a patient,and the local coil apparatus 400 may also be referred to as a head coilor a head coil apparatus. When the installation of the local coilapparatus 400 on the head of the patient is completed, the local coilapparatus 400 may accommodate the head of the patient and optionally apart of the neck of the patient. Under such a situation, a firstscanning region 481 and a second scanning region 482 may be formedinside the inner space of the local coil apparatus 400. The firstscanning region 481 may be for scanning, by the upper coil sub-assembly421, the top (or be referred to as an upper part) of the head, and thesecond scanning region 482 may be for scanning, by the lower coilsub-assembly 422, the other part (or be referred to as a lower part) ofthe head. The upper coil sub-assembly 421 may conform to the upper partof the head, and may receive the MR signals of the upper part of thehead. For example, the upper coil sub-assembly 421 may be around theupper part of the head and may form a dome-like structure. The lowercoil sub-assembly 422 may conform to the lower part of the head, and mayreceive the MR signals of the lower part of the head. For example, thelower coil sub-assembly 422 may be around the lower part of the head andmay form a barrel-like structure. In some embodiments, the lower coilsub-assembly 422 may further emit RF signals for exciting the scanningpart. The RF signals emitted by the lower coil sub-assembly 422 may forma local RF field. The angle between the direction of the local RF fieldand the direction (e.g., along the Z direction) of the main magneticfield generated by the magnet assembly of the medical device 110 may beadjusted by adjusting the position of the first coil assembly (orassemblies) of the local coil apparatus 400.

In some embodiments, the lower coil sub-assembly 422 may include aposterior part and an anterior part (with respect to the Y direction).The anterior part of the lower coil sub-assembly 422 may correspond tothe top component 415 of the housing 410, and may be configured toreceive the MR signals of the anterior portion of the head of thesubject 115. The posterior part of the lower coil sub-assembly 422 maycorresponding to the bottom component 416 of the housing 410, and may beconfigured to receive the MR signals of the neck, cheek, and/orposterior portion of the head of the subject. The top component 415 andthe bottom component 416 may together hold the head and neck of thesubject 115.

According to the positions of the upper coil sub-assembly 421 and thelower coil sub-assembly 422, the inner space provided by the housing 410may include an upper space 431 and a lower space 432. In someembodiments, the one or more receiving members of the local coilapparatus 400 may be disposed inside the lower space 432. In the case ofthe local coil apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 3, the one or morereceiving members may be disposed throughout the inner space provided bythe housing 310.

In some embodiments, the local coil apparatus 300/400 may include afirst receiving system and a second receiving system. The firstreceiving system may include at least one first receiving member, andthe second receiving system may include at least one second receivingmember. The at least one first receiving member may each include a firstflexible component, and the at least one second receiving member mayeach include a second flexible component. The first flexiblecomponent(s) and/or the second flexible component(s) of the local coilapparatus 300/400 may each include a first coil assembly.

In some embodiments, the at least one first receiving member may includea pair of first receiving members, and the at least one second receivingmember may include a pair of second receiving members. The pair offirst/second receiving members may be mounted on the two lateral sidesof the inner surface of the housing 310/490 respectively. When the pairof first/second receiving members are in their second configurations,the first/second flexible components thereof may be in contact with andmay together hold a corresponding portion of the local part 390/490. Forexample, in the case of the local coil apparatus 400, the local part 490may include the head of a patient and at least a portion of the neck ofthe patient, the first flexible components may together hold the neck ofthe patient, and the second flexible components thereof may togetherhold the head of the patient (or a portion thereof).

Each of the first receiving system and the second receiving system mayinclude a driving mechanism (corresponding to the driving mechanism 250)and an activation member (corresponding to the activation member 240)for driving the configuration change of each of the pair of firstreceiving members and the pair of second receiving members. In someembodiments, the activation members of the first receiving system andthe second receiving system may be integrated into a single component.

In some embodiments, only one first receiving member and only one secondreceiving member may be mounted on the inner surface of the housing310/410. When the receiving member assembly is in the secondconfiguration, the first/second flexible component thereof may contact acorresponding portion of the head of a patient. In some embodiments,during the configuration change, the first/second flexible component maybe transformed or bent to wrap a corresponding portion of the head.

It is understood that other proper configurations of the receivingmember(s) are also possible. For example, the local coil apparatus300/400 may include only one first driving mechanism and a pair ofsecond receiving members, or include only one second driving mechanismand a pair of first driving mechanisms. As another example, besides thefirst receiving member(s) and the second receiving member(s), the localcoil apparatus 400 may further include other receiving member(s) to holdanother portion of the local part 290.

In the following of the present disclosure, an exemplary head coilapparatus is described in detail, which may be an embodiment of thelocal coil apparatus 200/400. It is understood that the head coilapparatus are provided only for demonstration purposes and not intendedto be limiting. The configuration of the head coil apparatus, especiallythe configurations of the receiving member(s), the activation member(s),and the driving mechanism(s), may be used in local coil apparatus ofother types of local part, such as a knee, the abdomen, a hand, or afoot of a patient. The provided configurations may also be used inapparatus specially designed to perform an MR imaging on another type ofsubject, such as animals, antiques, plants, etc. The providedconfigurations may also be used in other application fields. Forexample, the first coil assembly and the second coil assembly (if any)may be removed from the apparatus, and the one or more receiving membersof the apparatus may be configured to clamp a local part of an object tobe fixed. The apparatus may be used as a mounting or fixing structure inmedical imaging fields as well as other application fields.

FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary head coilapparatus 500 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 5 illustrates a first view of the head coil apparatus 500illustrated. FIG. 6 illustrates a second view of the head coil apparatus500. FIG. 7 illustrates a third view of the head coil apparatus 500. Thehead coil apparatus 500 may be an example of the local coil apparatus200 (or 400). As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the head coil apparatus 500 mayinclude a housing 510 and a one or more receiving systems. Each of theone or more receiving systems may include a receiving member assembly, adriving mechanism 502, and an activation member 521. The receivingmember assembly may include a plurality of receiving members 520. Insome embodiments, the receiving member assembly may further include oneor more other functioning members (e.g., as described in connection withFIG. 2A). The housing 510 may be an example of the housing 210 (or 410).Each of the plurality of receiving members 520 may be an example of thereceiving member 230. The driving mechanism 502 may be an example of thedriving mechanism 250. The housing 510 may include a top component 503and a bottom component 501. The top component 503 and the bottomcomponent 501 may be examples of the top component 215 and the bottomcomponent 216, respectively. The top component 503 and the bottomcomponent 501 may be connected together to form an arc-shaped receivingchamber providing an inner space. The plurality of receiving members 520and the driving mechanism 502 may be inside the receiving chamber. Theconfigurations of the top component 503 and the bottom component 501 mayenable the head of the user to enter into the receiving chamber and takean MR imaging. The plurality of receiving members 520 may be connectedto the inner surface of the receiving chamber, and can be rotated aroundthe connecting point.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the top component 503 of thehead coil apparatus 500 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematicdiagrams illustrating the bottom component 501 of the head coilapparatus 500 illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7 according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure. In FIG. 9, the bottom component 501 may be ina natural state (or idle state). In the natural state, the plurality ofreceiving members 520 may be in their first configurations. In FIG. 10,the bottom component may be in a working state (or scanning state). Inthe working state, the head of the patient may be placed on the at leastone activation member 521, and the receiving member assembly may be inthe second configuration.

As shown in FIG. 8, the top component 503 may include a movable scansection 531 and a first fixed scan section 532. As shown in FIGS. 8 and9, the bottom component 501 may include a second fixed scan section 513,a third fixed scan section 514, and supporting shells 515. Thesupporting shells 515 may include a first supporting shell 515-1 and asecond supporting shell 515-2, which may be disposed on the outersurfaces of the second fixed scan section 513 and the third fixed scansection 514 respectively.

It is noted that the shell of the top component 503 is not shown in FIG.5, but shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 8; the upper shell (with respect to theY direction) of the movable scan section 531 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 7,but not shown in FIGS. 6 and 8; a part of the shell of the bottomcomponent 501 is not shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, but shown in FIGS. 6 and10.

The driving mechanism 502 may be connected to the plurality of receivingmembers 520. The plurality of receiving members 520 may be arrangedsymmetrically on both lateral sides of the head coil apparatus 500. Insome embodiments, the driving mechanism 502 may change the configurationof the plurality of receiving members 520, so that the configuration ofthe receiving member assembly may be changed from the firstconfigurations to the second configuration. By changing theconfigurations of the plurality of receiving members 520, the distancebetween each of the plurality of receiving members 520 and acorresponding portion of the subject to be scanned may be adjusted, andthe plurality of receiving members 520 may conform to the correspondingportions. In some embodiments, during the configuration change, theplurality of receiving members 520 may be bent.

The supporting shells 515, the first fixed scan section 532, and thesecond fixed scan section 513 may form the aforementioned receivingchamber (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6), and the plurality ofreceiving members 520 may be installed in the receiving chamber. Forexample, the plurality of receiving members 520 may be installed on thesupporting shell 515-1. The movable scan section 531 may be disposedoutside the receiving chamber. In some embodiments, the movable scansection 531 and the first fixed scan section 532 may be disposed abovethe driving mechanism 502, and the third fixed scan section 514 may bedisposed outside the receiving chamber. In some embodiments, the secondfixed scan section 513 and the third fixed scan section 514 may berespectively disposed on the front side and rear side (e.g., withrespect to the Z direction) of the receiving chamber, and the thirdfixed scan section 514 may be disposed below the movable scan section531, and the first fixed scan section 532 may be disposed above thesecond fixed scan section.

The curved portions of the first fixed scan section 532 and the secondfixed scan section 513 may together form an upper portion (with respectto the Z direction) of the head coil apparatus 500, and the otherportion(s) of the head coil apparatus 500 may be referred to as a lowerportion of the head coil apparatus 500 (with respect to the Zdirection). The upper portion of the head coil apparatus 500 may receiveMR signals from the top region of the head of the scanned subject. Thelower portion of the head coil apparatus 500 may receive the MR signalsfrom the other region of the head and the neck of the subject.

As the width of the head of a patient is generally larger than the widthof the neck of the patient, in order to make the receiving members 520of the head coil apparatus 500 to be more comfortable to the patient'shead and neck, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the one or more receivingsystems may include a first receiving system and a second receivingsystem. The first receiving system may include a pair of first receivingmembers 511, a driving mechanism 502 associated with the pair of firstreceiving members 511, and a first activation member 521-1. The secondreceiving system may include a pair of second receiving members 512, adriving mechanism 502 associated with the pair of second receivingmembers 512, and a second activation member 521-2. The pair offirst/second receiving members 511/512 may be arranged (e.g.,symmetrically) on both lateral sides of the local coil apparatus 500,and may be configured to hold the neck/head of the patient specifically.In some embodiments, for each of the first receiving system and thesecond receiving system, the corresponding driving mechanism 502 may bedisposed below (with respect to the Y direction) the corresponding pairof receiving members 520. The pair of first receiving members 511 andthe pair of second receiving members 512 may be driven separately by thecorresponding driving mechanism 502, so that the pair of first receivingmembers 511 and the pair of second receiving members 512 may beindividually adjusted according to the widths of the neck and head ofthe patient respectively. As a result, the first coil assemblies of thepair of first receiving members 511 and the pair of second receivingmembers 512 may be closer to the neck and the head of the patientrespectively, reducing the errors of the MR scanning.

In some embodiments, the pair of first/second receiving members 511/512may be symmetrically disposed on both lateral sides of the head coilapparatus 500. The first activation member 521-1 and the secondactivation member 521-2 may be configured to activate the drivingmechanism 502 associated with the pair of first receiving members 511and the pair of second receiving members 512 respectively. The firstactivation member 521-1 and the second activation member 521-2 may haveany proper size or shape. For demonstration purposes, in FIGS. 5, 6, 9,and 10, the first activation member 521-1 and the second activationmember 521-2 are in different shapes/sizes. However, it is also possiblethat the first activation member 521-1 and the second activation member521-2 have the same shape/size. In some specific embodiments, thefirst/second activation member 521-1/521-2 may have a shape/sizeadaptive to the neck/head of the patient to improve the comfortablenessof the head coil apparatus 500.

In some embodiments, the first activation member 521-1 and the secondactivation member 521-2 may be an integral structure configured toactivate both the driving mechanisms 502 of the first receiving systemand the second receiving system.

During the configuration change caused by the corresponding drivingmechanism 502 s, the pair of first receiving members 511 and the pair ofsecond receiving members 512 may be bent to conform to the patient'shead or neck. The patient may feel comfortable during such a process,and the MR signals obtained by the head coil apparatus 500 may beremarkably enhanced. The first receiving members 511 and the secondreceiving members 512 may each include a flexible component which may bein contact with the head of the patient after the configuration change.The flexible components may include one or more soft/elastic/flexiblematerials to make the patient more comfortable during the examination.In some embodiments, the first coil assemblies of the receiving membersmay be embedded in the flexible components thereof to further reduce thedistances between the first coil assemblies and the correspondingportions of the head.

In some embodiments, the first receiving member 511 and the secondreceiving member 512 on the same side of the head coil apparatus 500 maybe arranged side by side along a first direction (e.g., the Zdirection). When the head coil apparatus 500 is in the idle state, in asecond direction (e.g., the X direction) that is perpendicular to thefirst direction, the distance between the pair of first receivingmembers 511 may be smaller than the distance between the pair of secondreceiving members 512. Such a configuration may reduce the error of theMR scan data caused by different sizes of different scanned portions.

In some embodiments, the head coil apparatus 500 may further includemore receiving members. For example, the head coil apparatus 500 mayfurther include a pair of third receiving members (now shown). The pairof second receiving members 512 and the pair of the third receivingmembers may together hold the head (or a part thereof) of the patient.

It is noted that the grid lines in the first fixed scan section 532illustrated in FIG. 5 represent the layout of the second coil assembly(or assemblies) therein. In some embodiments, the above grid lines maybe omitted.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary receivingsystem 1100 of a local coil apparatus in its idle state according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a schematicdiagram illustrating the receiving system 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11 inits operating state according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The receiving system 1100 may be an example of the receivingsystem of the local coil apparatus 200 or head coil apparatus 500. Asshown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the receiving system 1100 may include a pressingmember 1121, which may be an example of the activation member 521. Thepressing member 1121 may be pressed down (with respect to the Ydirection) by a local part 1190 (e.g., the head or neck of a patient).The receiving system 1100 may also include a pair of receiving members1120, each of which may be an example of the receiving member 520/230.For example, the pair of receiving members 1120 may be the pair of firstreceiving members 511, the pair of second receiving members 512, or anyother pair of receiving members of the head coil apparatus 500.

The receiving system 1100 may also include a driving mechanism 1130connected to the pair of receiving members 1120 and the pressing member1121. The driving mechanism 1130 may be an example of the drivingmechanism 250/502. For each of the pair of receiving members 1120, thedriving mechanism 1130 may include a first rod 1122 and a second rod1123, which may be examples of the first rod 251 and the second rod 252respectively. The pair of first rods 1122 and the pair of second rods1123 may be symmetrically arranged on both sides of the local coilapparatus. For the convenience of description, the receiving system 1100may be further described by taking the first rod 1122, the second rod1123, and the receiving member 1120 on the same side as an example.

The pressing member 1121 may be connected to the first rod 1122 and candrive the first rod 1122 to move (e.g., rotate). The second rod 1123 mayinclude a first end pivotally connected to the first rod 1122, and asecond end connected to the receiving member 1120 to drive the receivingmember 1120 to move, rotate, and/or bend toward the local part 1190. Thesecond rod 1123 may be moved/rotated together with the first rod 1122.In some embodiments, the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 may beconnected via an elastic component 1125. The elastic component 1125 mayprovide a torque between the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123. Thetorque (i.e., the aforementioned strengthen forth) may cause the secondrod 1123 to rotate along with the first rod 1122 when the receivingmember 1120 is not in contact with (hasn't reached) the local part 1190,and may also cause the second rod 1123 to move (e.g., rotate) relativeto the first rod 1122 when the receiving member 1120 reaches the localpart 1190. In such a situation, the configuration change of thereceiving member 1120 may be stopped by the local part 1190, but thepressing member 1121 may not be fully pressed down. When the pressingmember 1121 is not fully pressed, the pressing member 1121 may keepoutput an activation force resulting from the force exerted by the localpart 1190, causing the driving mechanism 1130 to drive the receivingmember 1120 Then the elastic component 1125 may cause the second rod1123 to move (e.g., rotate) relative to the first rod 1122 to enable thepressing member 1121 to be fully pressed down, which may make thepatient to feel more comfortable and avoid potential health damage tothe patient. In some embodiments, the first rod 1122 and the second rod1123 may be connected via a first connecting shaft 1124. The elasticcomponent 1125 may be disposed at the first connecting shaft 1124, andmay be pressed to the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123. In somespecific embodiments, the first connecting shaft 1124 may locate on thesurface of the supporting shell 515 that faces away from the local partto be scanned, and may be pivotally mounted on the supporting shell 515as a fixed pivot point.

In some embodiments, the elastic component 1125 may be a torsion spring.To install the torsion spring on the receiving system 1100, the body ofthe torsion spring may be first disposed to surround the firstconnecting shaft 1124, and then the two ends of the first connectingshaft 1124 may be inserted into the first rod 1122 and the second rod1123, respectively. Next, the two ends of the torsion spring may bepressed to the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 respectively,ensuring that the second rod 1123 can be rotated with respect to thesecond rod 1123 when the local part 1190 has a larger size, and can bereturned back to its original position after the feedback force exertedby the local part 1190 disappears.

In some embodiments, one or more through-holes (not shown) may bearranged on the supporting shell 515, each of which may accommodate acorresponding pressing member 1121 passing through the supporting shell515. In some embodiments, when multiple through-holes are arranged onthe supporting shell 515, the multiple through-holes may be arrangedaccording to the shape/size of the local part 1190. For example, whenthe local part 1190 is the head of a patient, the multiple through-holesmay be arranged in a line. The pressing member 1121 may include a firstpart above (with respect to the Y direction) the supporting shell 515,and a second part beneath (with respect to the Y direction) thesupporting shell 515. The first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 may beboth beneath the supporting shell 515. When the pressing member 1121 ispressed down, the first rod 1122 may rotate with respect to theactivation member, and the second rod 1123 may also rotate together withthe first rod 1122. As the first connecting shaft 1124 is pivotallymounted on the supporting shell 515, and the first rod 1122 and thesecond rod 1123 are connected to the elastic component 1125 that isdisposed over the first connecting shaft 1124, when the receiving member1120 is in contact with the local part 1190, the elastic component 1125may allow the pressing member 1121 to be pressed down to the bottom (orbe referred to as being fully pressed down), so that the top surface(with respect to the Y direction) of the pressing member 1121 can becoplanar with the surface of the supporting shell 515 that faces thelocal part 1190 during the MR imaging, no matter the size/shape of thelocal part 1190. As a result, the patient may not be annoyed by theprotrusion of the top surface of the pressing member 1121.

When the head/neck of the subject is placed on the pressing member 1121causing the pressing member 1121 to be pressed down, the pressing member1121 may drive the first rod 1122 to rotate about the first connectingshaft 1124. As the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 are connectedvia the first connecting shaft 1124, and the elastic component 1125 isdisposed over the first connecting shaft 1124, when the first rod 1122rotates about the first connecting shaft 1124, the resulting torsion ofthe elastic component 1125 may drive the second rod 1123 to rotate aboutthe first connecting shaft 1124 as well. The receiving member 1120 mayhave an end (or be referred to a bottom end) connected to the innersurface of the housing 210/510 via a second connecting shaft 1126. Whenthe second rod 1123 is caused to rotate about the first connecting shaft1124, the second rod 1123 may push the receiving member 1120 to rotateabout the second connecting shaft 1126. The receiving member 1120 may beflexible, and may include at least one flexible/soft/elastic material.Due to the flexibility of the receiving member 1120, the receivingmember 1120 may be pushed to bend toward the local part 1190, so as tomake it comfortable for the local part 1190. As shown in FIG. 11, Tindicates the arc trajectories of the receiving member 1120, the firstrod 1122, and the second rod 1123, respectively. It is understood thatthe trajectories T are only for demonstration purposes. In someembodiments, one or more of the trajectory lines of the receiving member520, the first rod 1122, and the second rod 1123 may be different formthe trajectories T shown in FIG. 11.

When the second rod 1123 is a straight rigid rod, the head of thesubject may not be in good contact with the receiving member 1120, whichmay result in low accuracy of the scan data. Therefore, in someembodiments, the second rod 1123 may include a connecting arm 1231 and apushing arm 1232. One end of the connecting arm 1231 may be pivotallyconnected to the first rod 1122, and the other end of the connecting arm1231 may be connected with the pushing arm 1232. The pushing arm 1232may be connected to the upper part (with respect to the Y direction) ofthe receiving member 1120, and the may be bent toward the receivingmember 1120. Such a configuration may cause that, when the second rod1123 is pushing the receiving member 1120, the upper end of thereceiving member 1120 may be bent downward, and be in closer conformityto the local part 1190. The end of the pushing arm 1232 connected to thereceiving member 1120 may penetrate through the supporting shell 515when the receiving system 1100 is adopted in the head coil apparatus500.

In some embodiments, the angle between the first rod 1122 and the secondrod 1123 may be greater than 90° when the receiving system 1100 is in anidle state, i.e., the pressing member 1121 is not pressed down by thelocal part 1190. The operating mechanism of the receiving system 1100may be demonstrated by FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagramillustrating the receiving system 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11 in theidle state according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Asshown in FIG. 13, the angle between the first rod 1122 and the secondrod 1123 is A (e.g., 115°). FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustratingthe receiving system 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11 in the presence of alocal part 1490 with a relatively small size according to someembodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 14, the anglebetween the first rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 is B (e.g., 130°).FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating the receiving system 1100illustrated in FIG. 11 in the presence of a local part 1590 with arelatively big size according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 15, the angle between the first rod 1122and the second rod 1123 is C (e.g., 150°). As can be seen from FIGS. 13to 15, the greater the pressure applied to the pressing member 1121 bythe local part to be scanned, the greater the angle between the firstrod 1122 and the second rod 1123. When the pressing member 1121 is fullypressed down by the local part to be scanned, the angle between thefirst rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 may be adjustable according tothe size of the local part to be scanned (e.g., the head of a patient),so that the receiving member 1120 may conform to the head of thepatient.

In the above configuration, after the patient is lying down, the headand the neck of the patient may press down the pressing member 1121,then the head/neck of the patient may be in close contact with thereceiving members 1120, and the distances between the coils thereof andthe head/neck of the patient may be minimized. The flexible component ofthe receiving members 1120 and the fully-pressed-down pressing member1121 may keep the patient comfortable. It is also possible to addcushions on the supporting shell 515 and the pressing member 1121 tomake the head coil apparatus 500 to be more comfortable. In someembodiments, the elastic component 1125 may be pre-pressed before beingmounted on the receiving system 1100, so that the receiving members 1120may exert a minimized pressure to the head/neck of the patient.Therefore, the receiving members 1120 may be in close contact with alocal part having a relatively small size. Also, the angle between thefirst rod 1122 and the second rod 1123 may be limited to improve thestability of the receiving system 1100.

In some embodiments, to ensure that both sides of the head/neck of theparent are in contact with the pair of receiving members 1120, the pairof first rods 1122 and the pair of second rods 1123 may be arranged onboth lateral sides of the pressing member 1121. In some specificembodiments, the pair of first receiving members 511 and the pair ofsecond receiving members 512 of the head coil apparatus 500 illustratedin FIGS. 5 and 6 may each be connected to a receiving system 1100. Thebottom ends of the first receiving members 511 and the second receivingmembers 512 may each be pivotally mounted on the supporting shell 515via a second connecting shaft 1126. The upper parts of the firstreceiving members 511 and the second receiving members 512 may berespectively connected to the corresponding second rods 1123 of thecorresponding driving mechanisms 1130. When the neck and the head of thepatient are placed on the activation members 511-1 and 511-2, the firstreceiving members 511 and the second receiving members 512 may be drivento bend/rotate toward the neck and the head of the patient, so that thefirst receiving members 511 may conform to the neck of the patient, andthe second receiving members 512 may conform to the head of the patient.

In some embodiments, the pressing member 1121 may include a pressingprotrusion 1211, a return spring 1212, and a pair of connecting plates1213 (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8). The pair of connectingplates 1213 may be connected to both lateral sides of the pressingprotrusion 1211 respectively. The return spring 1212 may be disposed atthe bottom (with respect to the Y direction) of the pressing protrusion1211. The pair of connecting plates 1213 may be connected to the pair offirst rods 1122, respectively.

The pressing protrusion 1211 may penetrate through the supporting shell515 and can be pressed down by the head of the subject. The returnspring 1212 may be disposed directly below the pressing protrusion 1211,so that the pressing member 1121 can be restored to the original statein the absence of an external force. The pair of connecting plates 1213may each include a sliding slot 1214. The pair of first rods 1122 mayeach be pivotally connected to the corresponding connecting plate 1213via a third connecting shaft 1215, and the third connecting shaft 1215may move through the sliding slot 1214. When the pressing protrusion1211 is pressed down by the local part 1190, the pressing protrusion1211 may drive the pair of first rods 1122 connected to the connectingplates 1213 to rotate about the third connecting shaft 1215. As aresult, the pair of first/second receiving members 511/512 can move(e.g., rotate) and/or bend toward each other, so as conform to theneck/head of the patient.

It is noted that the receiving system 1100 illustrated in FIGS. 11 to 15are only for demonstration purposes and not intended to be liming. Forexample, in different embodiments, the second rod 1123 may be aone-piece structure or a separable structure (e.g., formed by detachablyconnecting the connecting arm 1231 and the pushing arm 1232). As anotherexample, in some embodiments, the pair of connecting plates 1213 and thepressing protrusion 1211 may also be integrated into a one-piecestructure.

In some embodiments, a plurality of coils of the second coil assemblymay be respectively disposed inside the first fixed scan section 532,the second fixed scan section 513, the third fixed scan section 514, andthe supporting shell 515. A plurality of first coil assemblies may berespectively disposed inside the pair of first receiving members 511 andthe pair of second receiving members 512. A third coil assembly may bedisposed inside the movable scan section 531. The plurality of firstcoil assemblies, the second coil assembly, and the third coil assemblymay be able to receive MR signals of corresponding portions of thehead/neck of the patient.

In some embodiments, adjacent coils in the first/second/third coilassembly may be partially overlapped to decouple the coils. It is notedthat other decoupling techniques, such as a decoupling capacitor or adecoupling inductor, may also be introduced into the first/second/thirdcoil assembly for the decoupling of coils. The decoupling techniqueadopted in the present disclosure is not specifically limited.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of coilsdisposed inside the top component 503 of the head coil apparatus 500illustrated in FIG. 8 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplarylayout of coils disposed inside the bottom component 501 of the headcoil apparatus 500 illustrated in FIG. 9 according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure. Coils of the first coil assembly may bedisposed circumferentially in the first fixed scan section 532. Coils ofthe first coil assembly may also be disposed in the second fixed scansection 513, the third fixed scan section 514, and the supporting shell515, which may correspond to the head, the neck, and the shoulders thesubject, respectively. Since the first coil assembly is has a fixedconfiguration with respect to the head coil apparatus 500, the RF fieldgenerated thereby may be substantially stable.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary layout of coilsdisposed inside a first receiving member 511 of the head coil apparatus500 illustrated in FIG. 10 according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As the first receiving member 511 may be driven by thecorresponding driving mechanism 502 to change from the firstconfiguration to the second configuration to conform to the neck of thepatient, the first coil assembly thereof may be moved/bent/rotated withthe first receiving member. For different patients, due to the differentsizes/shapes of the heads, the corresponding second configurations ofthe first receiving member 511 (as well as that of the other receivingmembers) may be varied. As a result, the angle between the direction ofthe RF field generated by the second coil assembly of the firstreceiving member 511 (as well as that of the other receiving members)and the direction of the main magnetic field generated by the magnetassembly of the medical device 110 may be variable toward differentpatients.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1900 forperforming an MR imaging on a local part of a subject with the imagingsystem 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The process 1900 may be implemented on the imagingsystem 100 and may be performed manually, automatically, orsemi-automatically.

In some embodiments, the process 1900 may be in the form of instructionsstored in a non-transitory storage device (e.g., the storage device 150,a built-in storage device of the data processing device 130), and may beexecuted or be invoked by a processor of a computing device (e.g., thedata processing device 130). The computing device may be incommunication (e.g., via the network 120 and/or wired connections) withthe components of the imaging system 100 for transmitting thecorresponding control signals to cause the components to perform thecorresponding operations. In some embodiments, the computing device mayimplement the process 1900 in response to an instruction of a user. Theuser may be a patient (i.e., the subject) to receive the MR imaging, oran operator of the imaging system 100.

For demonstration purposes, the process 1900 may be described inconnection with the local coil apparatus 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. Itis understood that the process 1900 may also be implemented with avariant of the local coil apparatus 200, such as the head coil apparatus500 illustrated in FIG. 5.

In 1910, the bottom component 216 of the housing 210 may be positionedon the table 112 of the imaging system 100. The bottom component 216 mayjust be placed on the table 112 or be detachably mounted on the table112.

In some embodiments, the operation 1910 may be performed manually.Alternatively, the imaging system 100 may include a first robotic armconfigured to perform the operation 1910 when the computing deviceexecutes the corresponding instructions.

In 1920, the subject may be positioned on the table 112, ensuring that,for each of the at least one receiving system of the local coilapparatus 200, the local part of the subject is properly placed on theactivation member 240 of the receiving system so as to trigger theactivation member 240.

In some embodiments, the subject may be a patient, and the patient maylay on the table 112 and properly trigger the activation member 240, orwith the help of the operator.

In some embodiments, the subject may be non-living or not intelligentenough, then the operator of the imaging system 100 may perform theoperation 1920. Alternatively, the imaging system 100 may include asecond robotic arm configured to perform the operation 1920 when thecomputing device executes the corresponding instructions. The secondrobotic arm may be the first robotic arm or another robotic arm.

In 1930, for each of the at least one receiving system, the activationmember 240 may cause the driving mechanism 250 to drive each of the oneor more receiving members 230 to change from the first configuration tothe second configuration to conform to the local part of the subject, soas to reduce a distance between the first coil assembly thereof and acorresponding portion of the local part. The above process has beenfully described in the present disclosure and not repeated herein.

In 1940, the top component 215 of the housing 210 may be mounted on thebottom component 216.

In some embodiments, the operation 1940 may be performed manually.Alternatively, the imaging system 100 may include a third robotic armconfigured to perform the operation 1940 when the computing deviceexecutes the corresponding instructions. The third robotic arm may bethe first robotic arm, the second robotic arm, or another robotic arm.

In some embodiments, as mentioned before, the top component 215 may havea configuration similar to a receiving members 230. When the operation1930 is completed, the top component 215 may also be automaticallymounted on the bottom component 216.

In 1950, the table 112 may be caused to advance the subject to thescanning region 113 of the medical device 110, so that the local coilapparatus 200 is inside the scanning region 113. The operation 1950 maybe performed by the operator of the imaging system 100 or the computingdevice when executing the corresponding instructions.

In 1960, the medical device 110 and the local coil apparatus 200 may becaused to perform an MR scanning together on the local part of thesubject. The operation 1960 may be performed by the operator of theimaging system 100 or the computing device when executing thecorresponding instructions. The resulting MR scan data may be processedby the data processing device 130 for generating an MR image of thelocal part.

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary computing device for implementing oneor more components of the imaging system 100 (e.g., data processingdevice 130, terminal device 14). For example, the computing device 2000may be configured to perform one or more operations of the process 1900in FIG. 19. The computing device 2000 may include a bus 2070, aprocessor 2010, a read only memory (ROM) 2030, a random-access memory(RAM) 2040, a storage 2020 (e.g., massive storage device such as a harddisk, an optical disk, a solid-state disk, a memory card, etc.), aninput/output (I/O) port 2050, and a communication interface 2060. It isnoted that the architecture of the computing device 2000 illustrated inFIG. 20 is only for demonstration purposes, and not intended to belimiting.

In some embodiments, the computing device 2000 may be a single device.Alternatively, the computing device 2000 may include a plurality ofcomputing devices having the same or similar architectures asillustrated in FIG. 20, and one or more components of the computingdevice 2000 may be implemented by one or more of the plurality ofcomputing devices.

The bus 2070 may couple various components of computing device 2000 andfacilitate transferring of data and/or information between them. The bus2070 may have any bus structure in the art. For example, the bus 2070may be or may include a memory bus and/or a peripheral bus.

The I/O port 2050 may allow a transferring of data and/or informationbetween the bus 2070 and a peripheral device (e.g., components of theimaging system 100 such as the medical device 110). For example, the I/Oport 2050 may include a universal serial bus (USB) port, a communication(COM) port, a PS/20 port, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI)port, a video graphics array (VGA) port, a video cable socket such as anRCA sockets and a Mini-DIN socket, or the like, or a combinationthereof.

The communication interface 2060 may allow a transferring of data and/orinformation between the network 120 and the bus 2070. For example, thecommunication interface 2060 may be or may include a network interfacecard (NIC), a Bluetooth™ module, an NFC module, etc.

The ROM 2030, the RAM 2040, and/or the storage 2020 may be configured tostore computer readable instructions that can be executed by theprocessor 2010. The RAM 2040, and/or the storage 2020 may store dateand/or information obtained from a peripheral device (e.g., an imagecapturing mechanism) and/or the network 120. The RAM 2040, and/or thestorage 2020 may also store date and/or information generated by theprocessor 2010 during the execution of the instruction. In someembodiments, the ROM 2030, the RAM 2040, and/or the storage 2020 may beor may include the storage device 150 illustrated in FIG. 1.

The processor 2010 may be or include any processor in the art configuredto execute instructions stored in the ROM 2030, the RAM 2040, and/or thestorage 2020, so as to perform one or more operations or implement oneor more modules/units disclosed in the present disclosure. Merely by wayof example, the processor 2010 may include one or more hardwareprocessors, such as a central processing unit (CPU), anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an application-specificinstruction-set processor (ASIP), a graphics processing unit (GPU), aphysics processing unit (PPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), afield-programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD),a controller, a microcontroller unit, a reduced instruction-set computer(RISC), a microprocessor, or the like, or any combination thereof.

In some embodiments, the computing device 2000 may include a pluralityof processors 2010. The plurality of processors 2010 may operate inparallel for performing one or more operations disclosed in the presentdisclosure.

In some embodiments, one or more of the components of the computingdevice 2000 may be implemented on a single chip. For example, theprocessor 2010, the ROM 2030, and the RAM 2040 may be integrated into asingle chip.

In some embodiments, the computing device 2000 may be a single device orinclude a plurality of computing devices having a same or similararchitecture as illustrated in FIG. 20. In some embodiments, thecomputing device 2000 may implement a personal computer (PC) or anyother type of work station or terminal device. The computing device 2000may also act as a server if appropriately programmed.

FIG. 21 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thelocal coil apparatus 2100 may include a plurality of coils configured tospecifically receive MR signals of the corresponding local part of thesubject 115. The local coil apparatus 2100 may be in any proper form. Insome specific embodiments, the subject 115 may be a patient, and thelocal part of the subject 115 may include the neck and the head (or aportion thereof) of the patient. The local coil apparatus 2100 mayinclude a housing 2110 that provides an inner space, and a receivingsystem within the inner space configured to receive the neck and thehead of the patient. In some embodiments, the receiving system mayinclude a first receiving member 2150 and a second receiving member 2200for receiving the neck and the head of the patient, respectively,according to the difference between the sizes/shapes of the head and theneck of the patient. In some embodiment, the local part of the subject115 may also include other portions of the body of the patient, such asan arm and a corresponding hand of the patient, a lower leg and acorresponding foot of the patient. Accordingly, the first receivingmember 2150 and a second receiving member 2200 may be configured forreceiving the arm and the hand of the patient or the lower leg and thefoot, respectively. The following descriptions are provided, unlessotherwise stated expressly, with reference to the local part includingthe neck and the head of the patient for illustration purposes and notintended to be limiting.

Each of the first receiving member 2150 and the second receiving member2200 may include a first coil assembly. The first coil assembly may beconfigured to receive MR signals during the MR scanning. The first coilassembly arranged in the first receiving member 2150 for receiving MRsignals excited from the neck of the patient may also be referred to asneck coils. The first receiving member 2150 may also be referred to as aneck receiving member. The first coil assembly arranged in the secondreceiving member 2200 for receiving MR signals excited from the head ofthe patient may also be referred to as head coils. The second receivingmember 2200 may also be referred to as a head receiving member.

In some embodiments, the first receiving member 2150 may include a firstanterior receiving member 2160 and a first posterior receiving member2170. The first anterior receiving member 2160 may be configured toaccommodate the anterior neck of the patient, and also be referred to asanterior neck receiving member. The first posterior receiving member2170 may be configured to accommodate the posterior neck of the patient,and also be referred to as posterior neck receiving member. The secondreceiving member 2200 may include a second anterior receiving member2210 and a second posterior receiving member 2220. The second anteriorreceiving member 2210 may be configured to accommodate the anterior head(e.g., the face) of the patient, and also be referred to as anteriorhead receiving member. The second posterior receiving member 2220 may beconfigured to accommodate the posterior head of the patient, and also bereferred to as posterior head receiving member. The first anteriorreceiving member 2160 and the first posterior receiving member 2170 maybe mounted on the top side and the bottom side (with respect to the Ydirection) of the inner surface of the housing 2110, respectively, andform a first portion of the inner space 2180 for receiving the neck ofthe patient. The first anterior receiving member 2160 and the firstposterior receiving member 2170 may surround the first portion of theinner space 2180. The first coil assembly may be arranged in the firstanterior receiving member 2160 and the first posterior receiving member2170. In some embodiments, the first coil assembly arranged in the firstanterior receiving member 2160 may also be referred to as anterior neckcoils. The first coil assembly arranged in the first posterior receivingmember 2170 may also be referred to as posterior neck coils.

The second anterior receiving member 2210 and the second posteriorreceiving member 2220 may be mounted on the top side and the bottom side(with respect to the Y direction) of the inner surface of the housing2110, respectively, and form a second portion of the inner space 2230for accommodating the head of the patient. The second anterior receivingmember 2210 and the second posterior receiving member 2220 may surroundthe second portion of the inner space 2230. The first coil assembly maybe arranged in the second anterior receiving member 2210 and the secondposterior receiving member 2220. In some embodiments, the first coilassembly arranged in the second anterior receiving member 2210 may alsobe referred to as anterior head coils. The first coil assembly arrangedin the second posterior receiving member 2220 may also be referred to asposterior head coils.

In some embodiments, the first anterior receiving member 2160 and thefirst posterior receiving member 2170 may be arranged at an opening ofthe second portion of the inner space 2230 formed by the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 and the second posterior receiving member 2220.The first anterior receiving member 2160 may be movable with respect tothe first posterior receiving member 2170 and/or the second receivingmember 2200. When the first anterior receiving member 2160 movesrelative to the first posterior receiving member 2170 and/or the secondreceiving member 2200, a size of the first portion of the inner space2180 may vary. The size of the first portion of the inner space 2180 maybe adjusted according to a size of the neck of the patient by moving thefirst anterior receiving member 2160. In this case, the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 and the first posterior receiving member 2170 mayconform to the neck of the patient, so as to reduce a distance betweenthe first coil assembly in the first receiving member 2150 and the neckof the patient.

The first anterior receiving member 2160 may move with respect to thefirst posterior receiving member 2170 and/or the second receiving member2200 in any suitable form. In some embodiments, the first posteriorreceiving member 2170 or the second receiving member 2200 may includeone or more rotation joints. The first anterior receiving member 2160may rotatably connected to first posterior receiving member 2170 or thesecond receiving member 2200 via the one or more rotation joints. Thefirst anterior receiving member 2160 may rotate with respect to thefirst posterior receiving member 2170 and/or the second receiving member2200 via the one or more rotation joints. In some embodiments, the firstposterior receiving member 2170 or the second receiving member 2200 mayinclude at least one sliding rail. The at least one sliding rail mayhave a curved shape, a linear shape, etc. For example, the at least onesliding rail may have a linear shape being in the Y direction. The firstanterior receiving member 2160 may be mounted on the at least onesliding rail. The first anterior receiving member 2160 may move withrespect to the first posterior receiving member 2170 and/or the secondreceiving member 2200 along the sliding rail. It should be noted thatthe one or more rotation joints and the at least one sliding rail aremerely provided for illustration purposes, and not intended to belimiting. Any suitable structure that facilitates the movement of thefirst anterior receiving member 2160 with respect to the first posteriorreceiving member 2170 and/or the second receiving member 2200 may beused.

In some embodiments, the first anterior receiving member 2160 may alsomove with respect to the first posterior receiving member 2170 and/orthe second receiving member 2200 along other directions (e.g., the Zdirection). By moving along the Z direction, the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may conform to the left side or the right side ofthe neck, so as to reduce a distance between the first coil assembly inthe first receiving member 2150 and the left side or the right side ofthe neck of the patient. Therefore, an imaging of the left side or theright side of the neck (e.g., carotid arteries at the left side or theright side of the neck) may be realized.

In some embodiments, the first receiving member 2150 may be or includeat least one flexible component. The at least one flexible component mayinclude at least one soft/elastic/flexible material, such as cotton,wool, cloth, leather, artificial fiber, sponge, rubber, silica gel,polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer, latex, or thelike, or a combination thereof. The at least one flexible component maybe arranged on an inner surface of the first anterior receiving member2160 and/or the first posterior receiving member 2170 surrounding thefirst portion of the inner space 2180. When an external pressure isenforced on the flexible component (e.g., the neck of the patient isplaced on the flexible component), the at least one flexible componentmay undergo an elastic deformation and conform to the neck of thepatient. In some embodiments, the first coil assembly may be arranged inthe flexible component. Due to the elastic deformation of the flexiblecomponent, the first coil assembly may be closer to the neck of thepatient, and the imaging performance of the local coil apparatus 2100may be improved. Similarly, the second receiving member 2200 may also beor include at least one flexible component.

In some embodiments, the first posterior receiving member 2170 mayinclude a flexible component arranged on the inner surface of the firstposterior receiving member 2170. The flexible component may have aU-shape or semi-circular structure. The flexible component may have twofree ends. When the neck of the patient is placed on the flexiblecomponent of the first posterior receiving member 2170, the two freeends may move towards each other and conform to at least a portion ofthe neck of the patient.

In some embodiments, outer surfaces of the at least one flexiblecomponent of the first anterior receiving member 2160 and/or the firstposterior receiving member 2170 may be configured with a flexible bandor wire. The flexible band or wire winding the at least one flexiblecomponent of the first anterior receiving member 2160 and/or the firstposterior receiving member 2170 may tighten up after the neck of thepatient is placed in the first portion of the inner space 2180. In thiscase, the at least one flexible component of the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 and/or the first posterior receiving member 2170may conform to the neck of the patient, and the first coil assembly maybe of a smaller dimension (e.g., the first coil assembly forming acircle, or a portion thereof, of a smaller diameter) than before theneck of the patient is placed in the first portion of the inner space2180.

Before the MR scanning, the first anterior receiving member 2160 may beseparated apart from the first posterior receiving member 2170. Thefirst receiving member 2150 may be in an open state. Similarly, thesecond anterior receiving member 2210 may be separated apart from thesecond posterior receiving member 2220. The second receiving member 2200may also be in an open state. The neck and the head of the patient maybe placed in the first posterior receiving member 2170 and the secondposterior receiving member 2220, respectively. Then the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may be installed on the first posterior receivingmember 2170 (i.e., the first receiving member 2150 may be in a closedstate). The first anterior receiving member 2160 and the first posteriorreceiving member 2170 may be detachably mounted together to form thefirst portion of the inner space 2180. Similarly, the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 may installed on the second posterior receivingmember 2220 (i.e., the second receiving member 2200 may be in a closedstate). The second anterior receiving member 2210 and the secondposterior receiving member 2220 may be detachably mounted together toform the second portion of the inner space 2230.

In some embodiments, the connection between the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 and the second posterior receiving member 2220 maybe implemented using one or more pairs each including a positioningprotrusion and a complementary positioning groove. By inserting thepositioning protrusions into the corresponding positioning grooves, thesecond anterior receiving member 2210 and the second posterior receivingmember 2220 may be connected. In some embodiments, the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 may also be connected to the second posteriorreceiving member 2220 via one or more rotation joints (not shown in thefigure). It should be noted that the implementation of the secondreceiving member 2200 set forth above is merely for illustrationpurposes, and not intended to be limiting. In some embodiments, thesecond anterior receiving member 2210 and the second posterior receivingmember 2220 may be integrated and inseparable.

When the first anterior receiving member 2160 is installed on the firstposterior receiving member 2170, the first portion of the inner space2180 for accommodating the neck of the patient may have a relativelylarge size. When the local coil apparatus 2100 is in a state forperforming an MR scanning (e.g., when the setup of the local coilapparatus 2100 on the subject 115 is complete), the receiving memberassembly may change from a first configuration (e.g., as shown in FIG.21) to a second configuration (e.g., as shown in FIG. 22). The firstconfiguration and the second configuration correspond to different sizesof the first portion of the inner space 2180. In the secondconfiguration, at least a portion of the receiving member assembly(e.g., the first anterior receiving member 2160) may be in closerconformity to the local part (e.g., the neck of the patient) than in thefirst configuration.

FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram of illustrating an exemplary secondconfiguration of the local coil apparatus according to some embodimentsof the present disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 22, when the receivingmember assembly is in the second configuration, the first portion of theinner space 2180 of the local coil apparatus 2100 may have a smallersize than when the receiving member assembly is in the firstconfiguration, and the first anterior receiving member 2160 may be inclose conformity to the neck of the patient. To change from the firstconfiguration to the second configuration, the first anterior receivingmember 2160 may be moved (e.g., by an operator or a driving mechanism)to be closer to the first posterior receiving member 2170 so as toconform to the neck of the patient.

By moving the first anterior receiving member 2160, the size of thefirst portion of the inner space for receiving the neck of the patientmay be changed conveniently and effectively, thereby improving theadaptability of the first receiving member 2150 to local parts ofdifferent sizes. For example, for a child, the size of the first portionof the inner space 2180 may be relatively small. For an adult, the sizeof the first portion of the inner space 2180 may be relatively large. Inthis case, the first coil assembly may be closer to the local part ofthe patient, a signal-to-noise ratio of the MR signal may be enhanced,and the imaging quality of the local part may be improved.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, thefirst anterior receiving member 2160 may be movable with respect to areference plane. The reference plane may be any plane that can berepresented by the coordinate system. For example, the reference planemay be the X-Z plane. The movement of the first anterior receivingmember 2160 with respect to the reference plane may enable at least aportion of the first coil assembly of the first anterior receivingmember 2160 to conform to the neck of the patient.

FIGS. 23 and 24 are schematic diagrams of an upper part of the localcoil apparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram of the upper part of the local coilapparatus viewed from a positive direction of the Y axis to a negativedirection of the Y axis. FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of the upperpart of the local coil apparatus viewed from the negative direction ofthe Y axis to the positive direction of the Y axis. The upper part ofthe local coil apparatus 2300 may include the top component of thehousing 2110, the first anterior receiving member 2160 and the secondanterior receiving member 2210. In some embodiments, the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 may including one or more rotation joints 2240.The first anterior receiving member 2160 may be rotatably connected tothe second anterior receiving member 2210 via the one or more rotationjoints 2240. A rotation joint set on the second anterior receivingmember 2210 may be a structure that connects first anterior receivingmember 2160 to the second anterior receiving member 2210, and enables arotation of the first anterior receiving member 2160 around an axis.When the first anterior receiving member 2160 rotates around the axis byan angle, the size of the first portion of the inner space 2180 may beincreased or decreased accordingly. The angle may be defined withreference to the coordinate system as illustrated in the figure. Therotatable connection between the first anterior receiving member 2160and the second anterior receiving member 2210 may facilitate a smoothchange of the size of the first portion of the inner space 2180. Inaddition, the rotatable connection may be easy to implement in themanufacture.

In some embodiments, the angle by which the first anterior receivingmember 2160 rotates around the axis may be determined according toactual conditions. In some embodiments, the angle may be in a certainangle range. For example, the angle by which the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 rotates around the axis may range from 5 degreesto 50 degrees. In some embodiments, the angle range may be defined bythe one or more rotation joints 2240. For example, at least one of theone or more rotation joints 2240 may include a stopper that determinesan upper limit (e.g., 50 degrees) and a lower limit (e.g., 5 degrees) ofthe rotation range. In some embodiments, the upper limit and the lowerlimit of the angle range may be determined based on a big data analysis.For example, sizes (e.g., diameters) of necks of a large number ofpeople may be statistically analyzed, and the upper limit and the lowerlimit of the angle range may be determined based on the statisticalanalysis.

In some embodiments, when the first anterior receiving member 2160 ispositioned at a particular angle in the angle range, the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may keep stationary at the angle by virtue of theone or more rotation joints 2240. In this case, when the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 conforms to the neck of the patient, the one ormore rotation joints 2240 may sustain the weight of the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 to, instead of the neck of the patient, so thatthe load on the neck of the patient may be reduced. In some embodiments,at least one of the one or more rotation joints 2240 may include adamping structure. The damping structure may increase the friction whenthe rotation joints 2240 rotates. In this way, the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 can keep stationary at any angle within the anglerange.

In some embodiments, the count or number of the rotation joints 2240 maybe set according to actual needs. In some embodiments, the count ornumber of the rotation joints 2240 may be two. The two rotation joints2240 may be set on the lateral sides (in the Z direction) of the secondanterior receiving member 2210. The first anterior receiving member 2160may be rotatably connected to the second anterior receiving member 2210via the two rotation joints 2240. The first anterior receiving member2160 may rotate around an axis formed by the two rotation joints 2240.The two rotation joints 2240 may facilitate a smooth movement of thefirst anterior receiving member 2160 with respect to the secondreceiving member 2200 or a part thereof (e.g., the second anteriorreceiving member 2210).

In actual applications, differences of the sizes of the necks ofdifferent patients may be greater than differences of the sizes of theheads of the different patients. Generally, the sizes of the heads ofthe different patients may be roughly the same. By setting the one ormore rotation joints 2240 on the second anterior receiving member 2210,the first anterior receiving member 2160 may be movable with respect tothe second receiving member 2200. In this case, the size of the firstportion of the inner space 2180 for accommodating the neck of a patientmay be adjusted independently.

In some embodiments, the first anterior receiving member 2160 may berotatably connected to the second posterior receiving member 2220through one or more rotation joints. If only the neck of the patient isscanned in the MR scanning process, the second anterior receiving member2210 may be detached or separated from the second posterior receivingmember 2220, and the first anterior receiving member 2160 may berotatably connected to the second posterior receiving member 2220. Incomparison to the second posterior receiving member 2220, the secondanterior receiving member 2210 may be closer to the first anteriorreceiving member 2160, such that the structure of the rotationconnection may be easier accordingly. In some embodiments, to at leastone rotation joint 2240 may be set on the second anterior receivingmember 2210, and the other rotation joints 2240 may be set on the secondposterior receiving member 2220. The first anterior receiving member maybe rotatably connected to the second receiving member via the one ormore rotation joints 2240. In some alternative embodiments, the one ormore rotation joints 2240 may be set on the first posterior receivingmembers.

In some embodiments, the first anterior receiving member 2160 mayfurther include a main body 2162 and a flexible component 2163. Theflexible component 2163 may be attached to an inner surface of the mainbody 2162. The main body 2162 may conform to the neck of the patientthrough the flexible component 2163 in the second configuration. In someembodiments, at least a portion of the first coil assembly of the firstanterior receiving member 2160 may be arranged in the flexible component2163. The flexible component 2163 may undergo an elastic deformation andconform to the neck of the patient in the second configuration, and theat least a portion of the first coil assembly may be closer to the neckof the patient. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratio of the MR signalregarding the neck of the patient may be enhanced. In addition, theflexible component 2163 may avoid pain or injuries on the neck of thepatient when the first anterior receiving member 2160 with respect tothe second receiving member 2200, thereby improving the comfort of thepatient in the second configuration.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary rotation jointaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustratedin FIG. 25, the rotation joints 2240 may be set on the second anteriorreceiving member 2210. The first anterior receiving member 2160 may havebeen detached or separated from the second anterior receiving member2210. Thus, the first anterior receiving member 2160 is not shown inFIG. 25. In some embodiments, the rotation joints 2240 may include asocket part. The first anterior receiving member 2160 may include aplug-in part. The first anterior receiving member 2160 may be detachablyplugged in the one or more rotation joints 2240 by inserting the plug-inpart into the socket part. The detachable plugging connection mayfacilitate a rapid installation and disassembly of the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 with respect to the second receiving member 2200,and increase the replaceability of first anterior receiving member 2160of different types, structures, and/or sizes.

In some embodiments, the first coil assembly of the first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may include an electrical access interface (notshown in the figure). Electric power may be supplied to the first coilassembly of the first anterior receiving member 2160 through theelectrical access interface. The first coil assembly of the secondreceiving member 2200 may include a first electrical interface 2250.Electric power from the first coil assembly of the second receivingmember 2200 may be output thought the first electrical interface 2250.In some embodiments, the first electrical interface 2250 may configuredin at least one of the one or more rotation joints 2240 (e.g., thesocket part of the rotation joints 2240). The electrical accessinterface may be configured at the plug-in part of the first anteriorreceiving member 2160. The electrical access interface may be connectedto the first electrical interface 2250 when the first anterior receivingmember 2160 is plugged in the one or more rotation joints 2240. A firstconnection path between the first anterior receiving member 2160 and thesecond receiving member 2200 may be established. Electric power in thefirst coil assembly of the second receiving member 2200 may betransmitted to the first coil assembly of the first anterior receivingmember 2160 via the first connection path.

In addition, signals such as control signals, MR signals, etc., may alsobe transmitted via the first connection path. The first connection pathmay provide an integrated power supply and signal transmission for thefirst anterior receiving member 2160 and the second receiving member2200, and simplify the structure of the local coil apparatus 2100.Besides, the interfaces may include universal interfaces (e.g.,universal serial bus (USB) interfaces), which may be stable and have ahigh compatibility. For example, when the first receiving member 2150 isused alone, the first coil assembly of the first anterior receivingmember 2160 may be powered by an external power source having auniversal interface by connecting the electrical access interface to theuniversal interface.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, therotation joints 2240 may include a plug-in part. The first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may include a socket part. The first anteriorreceiving member 2160 may be detachably plugged in the one or morerotation joints 2240 by inserting the plug-in part into the socket part.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of a lower part of the local coilapparatus according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Thelower part of the local coil apparatus 2600 may include the bottomcomponent of the housing 2110, the first posterior receiving member 2170and the second posterior receiving member 2220. When the patient isplaced on the table 112, the neck of the patient may be in a directcontact with the first posterior receiving member 2170. In someembodiments, the entire first posterior receiving member 2170 may be aflexible component. Alternatively, a portion of the first posteriorreceiving member 2170 (e.g., a middle portion of the first posteriorreceiving member 2170) may be or include a flexible component. Theflexible component may be made of cotton, wool, cloth, leather,artificial fiber, sponge, rubber, silica gel, polyurethane, ethylenevinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer, latex, or the like, or a combinationthereof. At least a portion of the first coil assembly of the firstposterior receiving member 2170 may be arranged in the flexiblecomponent. The flexible component may undergo an elastic deformation andconform to the neck of the patient when the neck of the patient isplaced on the first posterior receiving member 2170, and the at least aportion of the first coil assembly in the flexible component may becloser to the neck of the patient. Therefore, the signal-to-noise ratioof the MR signal regarding the neck of the patient may be enhanced. Inaddition, the flexible component may avoid or reduce pain or injuriescaused by hard contact between the neck of the patient and a solidsurface.

In some embodiments, the entire first posterior receiving member 2170may be a U-shaped or semi-circular flexible component. The flexiblecomponent may have two free ends on the lateral sides. When the neck ofthe patient is placed on the flexible component of the first posteriorreceiving member 2170, the two free ends may move towards each other andconform to at least a portion of the neck of the patient. The first coilassembly in the flexible component may be closer to the neck of thepatient.

In some embodiments, the second anterior receiving member 2210 and thesecond posterior receiving member 2220 may be detachably mountedtogether to form the second portion of the inner space 2230. When thesecond anterior receiving member 2210 may installed on the secondposterior receiving member 2220 (i.e., the second receiving member 2200may be in a closed state), the second anterior receiving member 2210 maybe configured to compress the first posterior receiving member 2170 fromthe lateral sides (the Z direction) so that the two free ends may pressagainst at least a portion of the neck. The pressure from the secondanterior receiving member 2210 enforced on the first posterior receivingmember 2170 may improve the adaptability of the first posteriorreceiving member 2170 to necks of different sizes.

The second anterior receiving member 2210 may compress the firstposterior receiving member 2170 from the lateral sides directly or viaan intermediate structure between the second anterior receiving member2210 and the first posterior receiving member 2170. The intermediatestructure may transfer the pressure from the second anterior receivingmember 2210. In some embodiments, the intermediate structure may be anelastic structure. Merely for illustration, the intermediate structuremay include at least one torsional spring compressed bar 2260 set at thelateral sides of the first posterior receiving member 2170. An exemplarytorsional spring compressed bar may be found in FIG. 27. As shown inFIG. 27, the torsional spring compressed bar 2260 may include atorsional spring 2261 and two ends 2262 and 2263. The two ends 2262 and2263 may include a bar, a plate, etc. If one of the two ends (e.g., theend 2263) is impacted by an external force, the external force may betransferred to the other end (e.g., the end 2262) via the torsionalspring 2261. When the second anterior receiving member 2210 is installedon the second posterior receiving member 2220 (i.e., the secondreceiving member 2200 may be in a closed state), the second anteriorreceiving member 2210 may compress the end 2263 of the torsional springcompressed bar 2260, and the end 2263 may transfer the pressure from thesecond anterior receiving member 2210 (e.g., the weight of the secondanterior receiving member 2210) to the end 2262 via the torsional spring2261. Then the end 2262 may further transfer the pressure to the firstposterior receiving member 2170, such that the two free ends of thefirst posterior receiving member 2170 may press against at least aportion of the neck. In some embodiments, a torsion generated by thetorsional spring 2261 and/or sizes or shapes of the two ends 2262 and2263 may be designed according to actual needs. In this case, even forthe neck of a child, the first posterior receiving member 2170 mayconform to the neck.

In some embodiments, the second posterior receiving member 2220 may alsobe or include a U-shaped or semi-circular flexible component. Theflexible component may have two free ends on the lateral sides. When thehead of the patient is placed on the flexible component of the secondposterior receiving member 2220, the two free ends may move towards eachother and conform to at least a portion of the head of the patient. Thefirst coil assembly in the flexible component may be closer to the headof the patient.

It should be noted that the above description is merely provided for thepurposes of illustration, and not intended to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. For persons having ordinary skills in the art,multiple variations and modifications may be made under the teachings ofthe present disclosure. However, those variations and modifications donot depart from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, thereceiving system may further include an activation member and a drivingmechanism in communication with the activation member. In someembodiments, the activation member may be set on the first posteriorreceiving member 2170. The driving mechanism may be physically connectedto the first posterior receiving member 2170. When the neck of thepatient is placed on the activation member, the activation member maydetect the presence of the neck due to a pressure (e.g., weight of theneck) enforced on the activation member. The activation member may causethe driving mechanism to drive the receiving member assembly to changefrom the first configuration to the second configuration to reduce adistance between the first posterior receiving member 2170 and the neckof the patient. In some embodiments, the driving mechanism may befurther connected to the second posterior receiving member 2220physically. When the receiving member assembly changes from the firstconfiguration to the second configuration, a distance between the secondposterior receiving member 2220 and head of the patient may also bereduced.

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary first posterior receiving memberaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustratedin FIG. 28, the first posterior receiving member 2170 may include asecond electrical interface 2171. Electric power may be supplied to thefirst coil assembly of the first posterior receiving member 2170 throughthe second electrical interface 2171. FIG. 29 illustrates an exemplarysecond posterior receiving member according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 29, the second posteriorreceiving member 2220 may include a third electrical interface 2221.Electric power from the first coil assembly of the second posteriorreceiving member 2220 may be output thought the third electricalinterface 2221. In some embodiments, the second electrical interface2171 may be operably coupled to the third electrical interface 2221.Then a second connection path between the first posterior receivingmember 2170 and the second receiving member 2200 may be established.Electric power in the first coil assembly of the second receiving member2200 may be transmitted to the first coil assembly of the firstposterior receiving member 2170 via the second connection path. Inaddition, signals such as control signals, MR signals, etc., may also betransmitted on the second connection path. The second connection pathmay provide an integrated power supply and signal transmission for thefirst posterior receiving member 2170 and the second receiving member2200, and simplify the structure of the local coil apparatus 2100.Besides, the interfaces may be universal interfaces (e.g., universalserial bus (USB) interfaces), which may be stable and have a highcompatibility. For example, when the first receiving member 2150 is usedalone, the first coil assembly of the first posterior receiving member2170 may be powered by an external power source having a universalinterface by connecting the electrical access interface to the universalinterface. In some embodiments, the first posterior receiving member2170 may also be detachably connected to the second posterior receivingmember 2220 by coupling the second electrical interface 2171 to thethird electrical interface 2221. It should be noted that connectionmeans between the first posterior receiving member 2170 and the secondposterior receiving member 2220 may not be limited in the presentdisclosure. Exemplary connection means may include bolted connections,snap joints, rotation joints, adhensive joints, or the like, or acombination thereof.

Having thus described the basic concepts, it may be rather apparent tothose skilled in the art after reading this detailed disclosure that theforegoing detailed disclosure may be intended to be presented by way ofexample only and may be not limiting. Various alterations, improvements,and modifications may occur and are intended to those skilled in theart, though not expressly stated herein. These alterations,improvements, and modifications are intended to be suggested by thisdisclosure, and are within the spirit and scope of the embodiments ofthis disclosure.

Moreover, certain terminology has been used to describe embodiments ofthe present disclosure. For example, the terms “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” and/or “some embodiments” mean that a particular feature,structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodimentmay be included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.Therefore, it may be emphasized and should be appreciated that two ormore references to “an embodiment” or “one embodiment” or “analternative embodiment” in various portions of this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures or characteristics may be combined assuitable in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Further, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be illustrated and described herein in any ofa number of patentable classes or context including any new and usefulprocess, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new anduseful improvement thereof. Accordingly, aspects of the presentdisclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software(including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combiningsoftware and hardware implementation that may all generally be referredto herein as a “unit,” “module,” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects ofthe present disclosure may take the form of a computer program productembodied in one or more computer readable media having computer readableprogram code embodied thereon.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including electro-magnetic, optical, or thelike, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signalmedium may be any computer readable medium that may be not a computerreadable storage medium and that may communicate, propagate, ortransport a program for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on acomputer readable signal medium may be transmitted using any appropriatemedium, including wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, or thelike, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an subject oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Scala, Smalltalk, Eiffel, JADE, Emerald, C++, C#,VB. NET, Python or the like, conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language, Visual Basic, Fortran20103, Perl, COBOL 201020, PHP, ABAP, dynamic programming languages suchas Python, Ruby, and Groovy, or other programming languages. The programcode may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider) or in a cloud computingenvironment or offered as a service such as a Software as a Service(SaaS).

Furthermore, the recited order of processing elements or sequences, orthe use of numbers, letters, or other designations therefore, may be notintended to limit the claimed processes and methods to any order exceptas may be specified in the claims. Although the above disclosurediscusses through various examples what may be currently considered tobe a variety of useful embodiments of the disclosure, it may be to beunderstood that such detail may be solely for that purposes, and thatthe appended claims are not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but,on the contrary, are intended to cover modifications and equivalentarrangements that are within the spirit and scope of the disclosedembodiments. For example, although the implementation of variouscomponents described above may be embodied in a hardware device, it mayalso be implemented as a software only solution, for example, aninstallation on an existing server or mobile device.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purposes of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. Thismethod of disclosure, however, may be not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventiveembodiments lie in less than all features of a single foregoingdisclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±200% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein may be hereby incorporated herein by this reference inits entirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that may be inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and describe.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A local coil apparatus for performing a magneticresonance (MR) scanning on a local part of a subject, comprising: areceiving member assembly, wherein the receiving member assemblyincludes a first receiving member that is inside an inner space forreceiving the local part of the subject, the first receiving memberincludes a first posterior receiving member, the first receiving memberincludes a first coil assembly configured to receive MR signals duringthe MR scanning, and when the local part is placed on the firstposterior receiving member, the first posterior receiving member changesfrom a first configuration to a second configuration to conform to atleast a portion of the local part.
 22. The local coil apparatus of claim21, wherein the first posterior receiving member includes a flexiblecomponent that has two free ends, and when the first posterior receivingmember changes from the first configuration to the second configuration,the two free ends move towards each other.
 23. The local coil apparatusof claim 22, wherein the first receiving member further includes a firstanterior receiving member, and the first anterior receiving member andthe first posterior receiving member are configured to form a firstportion of the inner space.
 24. The local coil apparatus of claim 23,wherein the receiving member assembly further includes a secondreceiving member that is inside the inner space, and the secondreceiving member includes a second anterior receiving member and asecond posterior receiving member.
 25. The local coil apparatus of claim24, wherein the second posterior receiving member includes one or morerotation joints, and the first anterior receiving member is rotatablyconnected to the second posterior receiving member through the one ormore rotation joints.
 26. The local coil apparatus of claim 24, whereinthe second anterior receiving member and the second posterior receivingmember are detachably mounted together to form a portion of the innerspace.
 27. The local coil apparatus of claim 24, wherein the firstposterior receiving member includes one or more rotation joints, and thefirst anterior receiving member is rotatably connected to the firstposterior receiving member through the one or more rotation joints. 28.The local coil apparatus of claim 27, wherein the first anteriorreceiving member is detachably plugged in the one or more rotationjoints.
 29. The local coil apparatus of claim 27, wherein the secondreceiving member includes another first coil assembly configured toreceive MR signals during the MR scanning, the another first coilassembly of the second receiving member includes a first electricalinterface that is configured in at least one of the one or more rotationjoints.
 30. The local coil apparatus of claim 24, wherein the secondanterior receiving member of the second receiving member is configuredto compress the first posterior receiving member so that the two freeends press against the at least a portion of the local part when thesecond anterior receiving member is in the second configuration above asecond posterior receiving member of the second receiving member. 31.The local coil apparatus of claim 30, wherein the second anteriorreceiving member of the second receiving member compresses the firstposterior receiving member via an elastic structure.
 32. The local coilapparatus of claim 21, further including: an activation member disposedinside the inner space, and a driving mechanism physically connected tothe first posterior receiving member, wherein when the local part isplaced on the activation member, the activation member causes thedriving mechanism to drive the receiving member assembly to change fromthe first configuration to the second configuration to reduce a distancebetween the first posterior receiving member and the at least a portionof the local part.
 33. The local coil apparatus of claim 32, wherein theactivation member is set on the first posterior receiving member.
 34. Alocal coil apparatus for performing a magnetic resonance (MR) scanningon a local part of a subject, comprising: a housing configured toprovide an inner space for receiving the local part of the subject; anda receiving member assembly, wherein the receiving member assemblyincludes a first receiving member that is inside an inner space forreceiving the local part of the subject, the first receiving memberincludes a first posterior receiving member, the first receiving memberincludes a first coil assembly configured to receive MR signals duringthe MR scanning, and when the local part is placed on the firstposterior receiving member, the first posterior receiving member changesfrom a first configuration to a second configuration to conform to atleast a portion of the local part.
 35. The local coil apparatus of claim34, wherein the first posterior receiving member includes a flexiblecomponent that has two free ends, and when the first posterior receivingmember changes from the first configuration to the second configuration,the two free ends move towards each other.
 36. The local coil apparatusof claim 35, wherein the first receiving member further includes a firstanterior receiving member, and the first anterior receiving member andthe first posterior receiving member are configured to form a firstportion of the inner space.
 37. The local coil apparatus of claim 36,wherein the receiving member assembly further includes a secondreceiving member that is inside the inner space, and the secondreceiving member includes a second anterior receiving member and asecond posterior receiving member.
 38. The local coil apparatus of claim37, wherein the second posterior receiving member includes one or morerotation joints, and the first anterior receiving member is rotatablyconnected to the second posterior receiving member through the one ormore rotation joints.
 39. The local coil apparatus of claim 37, whereinthe first posterior receiving member or the housing includes one or morerotation joints, and the first anterior receiving member is rotatablyconnected to the first posterior receiving member or the housing throughthe one or more rotation joints.
 40. A local coil apparatus forperforming a magnetic resonance (MR) scanning on the neck and head of asubject, comprising: a receiving member assembly, wherein the receivingmember assembly includes a neck receiving member that is inside an innerspace for receiving the neck of the subject, the neck receiving memberincludes a posterior neck receiving member, the neck receiving memberincludes a first coil assembly configured to receive MR signals duringthe MR scanning, and when the neck of the subject is placed on the neckposterior receiving member, the neck posterior receiving member changesfrom a first configuration to a second configuration to conform to atleast a portion of the neck of the subject.